A school has launched an urgent plea for funds after its minibus was stolen.

The vehicle was taken from Long Mead Community School in Waveney Road, Tonbridge at about 9pm on Tuesday, January 14.

Now the school is appealing for help to raise £20,000 to replace it.

The bus is used for multiple reasons, including to pick children up and bring them to school.

Administrator Emma Dann discovered it was missing at 6.30am on Wednesday, January 15 and after reviewing CCTV footage, the theft was reported to police.

Head teacher Karen Fellows said: “There was a Mazda car that came down our drive that came down at 9.06pm and then drove away again.

“Then our minibus was driven out at 9.17pm – it’s shocking.”

In under 10 minutes, the thieves had removed the steering wheel lock from the white Ford Transit and driven off.

Emma said: “I bring 14 children into school every day and take them home every day but we also take it on school trips, sporting events and any SEN [special educational needs] activities where children need to be taken.

“Sometimes I take children home if they're poorly – it [the bus] is used for everything.”

But the theft is having a wider impact on the whole school says Ms Fellows.

“To be able to do school trips we usually use our minibus and the Baptist Church’s so then we can take a whole class and all we have to charge the parents for is the activities the children are actually doing,” she said.

“Coach travel is too expensive for our families – if we added the cost of a coach onto a school trip, they would not be able to afford to go.

“We cover a really deprived area of Tonbridge – we’ve got 57 free school meals out of 105 children and 49 on the SEN register so this is really massive for us.

“Not only is it the children coming to school every day on the bus, but actually it is every single child in the school – we can’t function without one.”

The school has borrowed a minibus from Tonbridge Baptist Church for a couple of weeks and is hoping to loan one from a special school, Nexus, until it can find a replacement.

But with little pay-out from insurance expected, staff are desperately trying to raise enough to buy one.

"We cover a really deprived area of Tonbridge...this is really massive for us..."

A fundraiser by a parent has been set up to secure £20,000 towards a new minibus – you can find the link here.

And the children have been doing their bit, drawing “wanted” posters in the hope that someone may have seen their bus.

Meanwhile, police say an investigation is under way.

The vehicle registration plate is VE59 HKV and the minibus had a magnetic sticker with the school logo on it at the time it was stolen.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 01622 604100, quoting reference 46/7967/25.

Residents with private CCTV or drivers with dashcams, who may have been in the area at the time of the incident, are also asked to check for footage.