A number of Shrewsbury residents have been left stranded abroad following the eruption of an Icelandic volcano.
Ambulance, school, hospital staff and even the Chronicle’s sports editor Alun Owen are among those who have been affected by the crisis sparked by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.
Mr Owen was due back in Shrewsbury from a five-day break in Venice last Friday but was forced to wait until Tuesday before setting off home.
He said: “The whole experience has been stressful and very expensive – so expensive that we had to leave Venice and find a cheaper resort nearby called Mestre.”
Staff from Midlands Air Ambulance, which covers Shrewsbury, were forced to ground for more than a day following the eruption. Services remained restricted until yesterday, Wednesday.
Ten staff at The Priory School were unable to return for work this week, and GCSE drama practical examinations had to be cancelled.
Candy Garbett, headteacher, said: “We are able to provide cover for all lessons but obviously there has been some disruption so we are asking parents and carers only to contact us if it is an emergency as our resources are stretched to capacity.”
A spokesperson for Shrewsbury Sixth Form College said: “We have managed to cover staff being off without too many problems, but are lucky that it didn’t happen when exams were going on, which would have made things a lot worse.”
A spokesman for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said a small number of appointments had to be rescheduled due to some staff being off.
An estimated 150,000 Britons have been stranded overseas as a result of the flight restrictions. However, some domestic UK flights have begun taking off as the Chronicle went to press.
- The Chronicle has been forced to reduce its sports coverage this week because the crisis has prevented sports editor Alun Owen returning home. We apologise to our readers for any inconvenience caused.
By James Pugh