I was trying very hard not to mention that on here...!!!
Yes... it certainly comes under the topic of this thread.
For the benefit of the forum members who are scratching their heads and at the same time without being too specific, this was in the early 1980s and the vehicle in question was a Bedford Duple with bodywork by Bella Vega; the actual vehicle is in the picture below.
One Sunday evening - this was a boarding school - most of us were watching the news on the television when there was a snippet on the local news at the end which mentioned a police chase involving a stolen coach and a picture was shown; someone said "Hey! That looks like the school bus!" and everyone laughed, then a moment later another, more senior, pupil burst into the TV room in a state of high excitement, flicked the lights on and yelled out to everyone: "( Name redacted ) has stolen the school bus!!!".
Pandemonium ensued.
It eventually transpired that the bus-nicking pupil had got about 50 miles away from the school with it, the last few miles with the police on his tail, and he eventually lost control and beached it on the central reservation of a dual carriageway. Although there was little visible damage, just a few small holes in the lower bodywork, and the bus was able to be driven back to the school, it was soon discovered that the chassis was slightly bent where it had been beached and so it was a write off.
The pupil in question very quickly became an ex-pupil.
The school then bought a replacement, another vehicle of the same type, but that only lasted 3 or 4 months because it quickly became apparent that it was an absolute turkey with a knackered engine and gearbox and so much corrosion that a sizable hole was discovered in the floor! A further replacement, in much better condition soon arrived, in the shape of a Scarborough built Reliance.
View attachment 63737
The later Reliance that replaced it.
View attachment 63738
