A VULNERABLE boy with severe autism who went missing from a special needs school was found fives miles away in another town.

Kieren McDonald, 11, who has limited speech, got through a broken security gate during a break from lessons at Hazelbeck School in Wagon Lane, Bingley.

He then managed to get on a public bus which took him to Keighley bus station.

The alarm was raised by the bus driver who recognised his school uniform and handed him over to the bus station manager who called police.

After the school was informed, a teacher had to drove to Keighley to pick Kieren up and return him to the school.

The incident has prompted a major investigation by the school which said it has now introduced additional security measures to prevent a reoccurance.

It has also acknowledged that some pupils, including Kieren, should be supervised on a one-one basis during breaks, particularly when moving to and from the playground.

And it has offered its apologies to Kieren's parents Ian and Suzanne McDonald, of Chelwood Drive, Allerton, Bradford.

Mr McDonald, 47, said: “I was angry and very scared of what could have happened.

“He has run away from us before, but this was much more scary.

“He has no sense of danger or fear of people.

"He was very vulnerable as he has a severe form of autism.

“You hear about abductions. You don’t know what the world is like around you.

“Kieren was traumatised by it and said sorry for going to Keighley on his own to us a few days later. We said it’s okay, so he has a little understanding of what happened.

“It is the worst time I have had as a parent when he went missing.

“He managed to get through three internal gates at the school, but he got out through the broken gate. It looked like it was closed but nobody checked it.

“The school said it has never happened there before.”

Head teacher Sue Pierce said a full review of the school's security had now been held using Bradford Council experts.

She said: “We have apologised to the parents for this regrettable incident and any distress it has caused.

“We have been in close contact with his family since it happened.

“We have carried out a full and thorough review of the school’s site security, our health and safety risk assessments and safeguarding procedures with the assistance of experts from the local authority and we would like to reassure parents that measures have been taken to prevent such an incident from happening again.”

Mr McDonald, who is unemployed, said he was reassured by the improved safety measures the school had introduced since Kieren, who was diagnosed with autism when he was three-and-a-half, went missing.

He said: “I just don’t want it to happen again. If they can put it into practice, I am quite happy with that.”

Hazelbeck School opened in April 2010, and shares a site with Beckfoot School to form the Beckfoot and Hazelbeck Learning Community.

Pupils at Hazelbeck suffer from conditions such as learning difficulties, autism and sensory impairments, with many having physical disabilities or mobility issues.

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