Mick’s Hut has become an unlikely hero to 50 Glaswegian schoolchildren and their teachers.
The city centre takeaway provided cut-price chips to the contingent from Greenfaulds High School after they became stranded in Preston due to train cancellations.
The group had been on an Avanti West Coast Service from London to Glasgow Central yesterday afternoon (Monday 25 September) when it was announced the service would be terminating at Preston.
After getting off at Preston and initially being informed they would be given the first class carriage on the next service at 9.43pm, the party was then told the later train had also been cancelled.
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As the hapless Scots waited for Avanti to source a coach, Mick’s Hut stepped in and demonstrated some true Proud Preston hospitality.
Despite another near disaster with low-running stock, buckets of potatoes were rushed to the Corporation Street takeaway and the cursed cohort were soon munching on 60 bags of chips.
Posting on X, a spokesperson for Greenfaulds said: “One last mention for Mick’s Hut in Preston. Didn’t have enough stock at 9pm to serve us all, but after some calls buckets of potatoes arrived by car! 40 mins later we were all fed for a fraction of the real cost. Heart warming that there are businesses like this around.”
In the end the Greenfaulds crew had to source their own coach, managing to finally leave Preston after 11.30pm with an arrival time of 2.30am.
Greenfaulds also posted on X to give Avanti some feedback: “Hi @AvantiWestCoast we’ve been stuck at Preston since around 630pm with 50 12 year olds. It’s now 10.08pm. We’ve just been informed that there is no way of getting us home to Glasgow, as we can’t send kids alone on taxis. A staff member has said we are effectively stuck here.
“Thankfully, we have been able to resource, on our own, a coach to take us home. If we had not, we would have 50 young children abandoned on the streets of Preston once the station closes. Apologies from your wonderful staff here are kind but not enough. Very poor.”
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