School children taken ill in carbon monoxide bus scare

Up to 40 children were taken ill while travelling to school on a bus today.

The pupils, six of whom were taken to hospital, reported that they were suffering from headaches and nausea after the bus arrived at Harris Church of England High School in Rugby, Warwickshire.

A police spokesman said six ambulances were at the school treating those pupils with less serious symptoms.

A police spokesman said officers were alerted to the incident at 10.15am by the ambulance service, which was already at the school.

The spokesman added: "Six children have been taken to the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry for treatment.

"The bus has been taken out of service and the Department of Transport are attending to carry out checks on the bus."

It is thought that the children may have been poisoned by carbon monoxide, although experts have yet to confirm what led to the them becoming unwell.

Meanwhile, a new survey has revealed that almost half of British households have taken measures to protect themselves or their families from carbon monoxide since a number of hifh profile cases revealed the dangers.

Some 49% of those responding to the YouGov survey have had their boilers or gas appliances serviced or bought carbon monoxide detectors since tragedies such as the deaths of two children in Corfu.

However many families have not done anything, citing such reasons as not having thought about the risks, not knowing what measures they should be taking, or not having got around to it yet.

The survey, commissioned by energy supplier Calor, asked 1,950 people if they had taken measures since the recent publicised incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning.

While 49% had acted, 46% had not taken measures - however one third of those had previously taken action against the risks.

Of those who had done nothing since the incidents, 23% had not really thought that much about the risks, some 7% were confident it would not happen to them or their families, while 12% admitted they simply did not know what measures they should be taking.

Some 15% said they had not got around to doing anything yet, while 8% said they were worried about the cost of servicing.

With winter well under way and people turning on gas appliances that had been left unused throughout the summer months, Calor warned it was crucial that people should know the facts and act now to protect themselves against this very dangerous threat.

Andrew Ford, corporate affairs manager, said: "Carbon monoxide poisoning kills over 30 people in the UK each year with thousands more experiencing symptoms of intoxication, yet it is clear that lack of awareness is still very much a problem in the UK.

"The number of cases of carbon monoxide poisoning is much higher during the winter months and it is vital that people start checking their heating systems and portable gas heaters before they start using them as the cold weather kicks in.

"Over two thirds of the people we questioned admitted that they hadn't had their boilers or gas appliances serviced, despite recommendations that servicings by a CORGI-registered engineer should be carried out every year.

"Carbon monoxide is an invisible gas that you cannot smell, taste or see and symptoms such as dizziness and headaches are often misdiagnosed as flu, so appliance servicing is the only way to flag up faulty equipment that could cause dangerously high levels of the toxic gas."

In October, two children were killed by carbon monoxide fumes while on holiday in Corfu.

Seven-year-old Christi Shepherd and her six year-old brother Bobby were overcome while on a half-term holiday on the Greek island.

It is thought the fumes came from a suspected faulty boiler which seeped into their room.

Less than three weeks later 25 young pupils were rushed to hospital suffering from sickness and dizziness after what was believed to be a carbon monoxide incident at an infants' school in the Ryton area of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.

The YouGov survey of 1,950 people providing a representative sample of the UK population was carried out between November 21 and November 24.

Copyright Press Association 2006.