A GROUP of schoolchildren were left stranded abroad after their hotel made a huge mistake with their passports.
The 42 teenagers, from Barr Beacon School in Walsall, were on holiday in the US.
After a skiing holiday to New Hampshire, the school group were due to check out of their hotel to return to the UK.
However, they were then told that the hotel had shredded nearly all of their passports by accident.
Headteacher Katie Hibbs told the BBC: "Forty-one of the passports were destroyed whilst the group were staying at the hotel in New Hampshire."
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The school was forced to extend the trip by four days while they tried to organise emergency documents to get all of the kids home.
One mum, whose teenage daughter was on the trip, said it was a "horrific shock".
She added: "[My daughter] was up throughout the night answering our emails and questions, when she should have been sleeping."
The teachers were forced to contact the British Embassy to get new passports for the pupils, who ranged from Years 8 to Years 10.
Due to the delay, the school took the kids to New York for an impromptu trip while they waited.
Despite this, one of the parents praised the teacher, saying she was "fantastic" in sorting the situation.
A Foreign Office spokesperson added: "Our staff are always on hand to support Brits in trouble overseas and we have been in close contact with this school to assist them.
"We are processing their applications for emergency travel documents so the staff and children can return to the UK as quickly as possible."
Last year, a woman was banned from her flight due to a "tiny tear" on her passport.
And one woman was forced to miss her Disneyland holiday after her niece ripped her passport on purpose.
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