An investigation has begun in Northern Ireland into claims that a group of youngsters on a youth club trip were abandoned in the dark by their carers and told to find their way back to a hostel.
The seven, aged between 12 and 14, from Co Durham in England, say that they were frightened and disoriented until they were rescued by police officers after a punishment for being noisy apparently went wrong.
They thought they were going to look at badgers in the wild when they were dropped off by a minibus in countryside outside Downpatrick, Co Down, at about 9.30pm last Wednesday. They claimed that they walked for an hour before asking for help at a house, where the owner phoned the police.
The cold, wet and tired youths said that they had been left to fend for themselves by leaders of the Moorside youth group. They have now returned to England, but parents have demanded answers.
A spokesman for Durham County Council, sponsor of the Moorside youth group, said: "We are making inquiries . . . Once complete, if any action is considered necessary or appropriate, it will be taken."
- (PA)