Just when everyone thought that the winter wonderland or winter nightmare, whatever way you think was over, more came over the past week, causing carnage in areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland, but also bringing tragedy to a family, her friends and a community.
17-year old Natasha Paton was tragically killed in a coach crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning, when a school trip went ahead, despite severe warnings of hazardous conditions from the police. Lanark Grammar School decided to proceed with the outing to the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, and have received a barrage of criticism from parents and fellow pupils. All have expressed their anger that the trip was allowed to set off from the school in the first place, considering the dangerous conditions around.
Having left the school at 5.30am in the morning, approximately twenty minutes into the 500-mile trip to the theme park, the coach plunged into a river, following the atrocious snowstorms that paralysed Southern Scotland. Thirty-eight pupils, five teachers and the coach driver were taken to hospital, all treated for injuries. Five remain in hospital, all said to be in a stable condition. Strathclyde police insisted the conditions were ‘horrendous, and the snow had a major part to play in the crash.’ It is unclear whether the children, including Natasha were wearing the standardised seatbelts at the time of the crash, though that speculation is seen as unnecessary at such a tragic time for everyone involved.
The parents of Natasha Paton are said to be ‘devastated at the loss of our beloved daughter.’ The school opened yesterday, for specialised counselling and a special assembly of remembrance. Known as a keen follower of Chelsea football club and a fan of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, Natasha was said by many to be ‘always happy, wearing a smile on her face.’ Her loss will be felt by many, some as a completely unavoidable incident, should the trip have not happened.
Meanwhile, across the UK, storms have affected many parts of the country and are set to continue throughout the Easter weekend, boosting the number of the 2million holidaymakers battling to getaway for the weekend, for a trip abroad. Forecasters have described the weekend to be ‘cold, wet and windy.’ Scotland and Northern Ireland have been almost paralysed completely by the snow, with the Environment Agency putting in seventeen flood warnings in place. 72,000 homes have no power, after numerous power lines came down, with some areas suffering 20 inches of snow falling, even more on higher grounds.
What a wonderful start it is to British Summer Time, it is making a real mockery of the calendar, but that doesn’t matter to the friends and family of Natasha Paton, a young girl, whose ambitions have been taken away in such tragic circumstances. I only can express my sorrow and condolences to the Paton family for this horrific incident, as the winter chill continues to bite us all in the most worst imaginable ways possible.
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