CONFUSION surrounded an abortive attempt to bring children from the former Yugoslavia to spend time in homes in Gloucestershire back in September, 1992.

The coach, which returned to Berkeley with no children, but a weary crew, found blame freely shared around.

Messages from the coach, which had set off with high hopes, indicated that there was trouble as there were no children at their destinations, only families.

They went from Graz in Austria to Nagyatad in Hungary, because the party was told youngsters would be in a refugee camp. Gazette reporter Jenny Boraston, who was on the coach, said: “When we got there, we found only families, no children on their own.”

After phone calls from the camp, the party was told children were in Austria.

“We were then told these were families,” said Jenny. “We had places for children only.

“There was only enough money for fuel to take us home. We were delayed in Germany for a driver’s rest.”

An organisation called the Brit-Pole Health Care Foundation, which was originally founded to bring children from Poland to Britain, liaised with John and Glenys Nix of Hill. The party did not manage to make contact with the children it sought.

Potential funding was being applied for a further trip, which was being organised by Mr and Mrs Nix, who said the first attempt had not been a total disaster, with many lessons learned.

Hope still remained for funds to raise money for the unsuccessful relief effort, said Elizabeth Cooper of Brit-Pole, which co-ordinated the trip. The coach that took the crew of eight had not yet been paid for, costing in the region of £2,500.

She said it was in the process of organising an entirely separate appeal in order to get the money for the coach.

But Mr and Mrs Nix said that more than £1,500 had been raised before the trip and would be sent to help pay the bills.

Mr and Mrs Nix said they did not view the trip as a total disaster and that a lot was learned from it although they believe they were sent out too early.

They added that they were now considering organising funding a second trip.