UK students stranded after hotel accidentally shreds 42 passports

Dozens of British students on a trip to the US were left stranded in the country after their hotel mistakenly shredded their passports. 

“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,” a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson told the BBC. “We are processing their applications for emergency travel documents so the staff and children can return to the U.K. as quickly as possible.”

The group of high school students of Barr Beacon School on a ski trip in New Hampshire had to extend their trip by four days as they await emergency documents from the British Embassy.

Along with the four staff members leading the trip, around 42 passports were destroyed. 

The Kancamagus Lodge, where the students had stayed during the trip, did not appear to have any explanation for why they had shredded the passports other than it had happened by mistake. 

“Unfortunately, the hotel managed to destroy the passports in their care, which has led to all those affected having to apply for Emergency Travel Documents,” head teacher Katie Hobbs, who was not on the trip, told the Express & Star. “The group are at the British Embassy in New York today to finalize all of the documents before they fly home on Tuesday, four days later than planned.” 

The students spent time sightseeing in New York City while the embassy processed their paperwork, with the expectation to return to the U.K. on Wednesday.

The families had to pay around $180 for the documents.

One parent praised Hobbs for “problem-solving from a distance,” staying up late to ensure all the parents received, filled out, and returned the paperwork to apply for the emergency documents as soon as possible. 

“She has just communicated well with us and was really calm and really clear,” the parent told the BBC. “She has just been phenomenal.”

“The silver lining is that they can have an amazing experience and I said ‘just be present and enjoy it,’” she added.

Hobbs in turn praised the four teachers leading the trip for working “around the clock to ensure that the pupils are all safe and returned home as soon as possible.” 

“I’m looking forward to receiving all of the party back very soon,” Hobbs said. 

The Kancamagus Lodge did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by time of publication.