The Men’s hockey bus burst into flames on return from away day
Hallam’s team have offered to lend them kit
Last night, the UoS Men’s Hockey teams’ coach went up in flames on the M62, as they were returning from Manchester.
All five teams had been on their first big away day of the year, playing Manchester’s hockey teams.
The first signs of a problem were smoke filling the isles of the coach, and surrounding cars beeping at them. The team told the driver immediately, and encouraged him to pull over onto the hard shoulder. The 68 team members evacuated the bus and walked further up the road.
Club captain, Lewis Garland, said: “I don’t think we really had a clue how serious it was at first until we saw oil leaking from the bottom of the bus and sparks coming from near the exhaust, so we got everyone to move further away and down through some trees. The whole bus then set on fire and smoke started coming across the slip road we were stood next to”
The flames completely engulfed the bus, destroying it and most of the kit inside. Luckily nobody was hurt, and the fire services controlled the flames.
The teams waited for around an hour for a replacement coach to rescue them, and valiant members still made it to their social at ROAR in the evening. Not even fire can stop the sesh.
Lewis continued, saying: “It didn’t ruin the day in Manchester at all for us, everyone dealt with it pretty well and we still had a big turnout for the social afterwards.
“But it has made sorting a new kit a massive hassle. In terms of kit destroyed we think all of its gone, except five hockey sticks which the fire brigade pulled out afterwards”.
The team estimate that roughly 70 hockey sticks, and everyone’s shoes and shin-pads got destroyed, along with lots of personal possessions, including an £800 camera.
Despite the ongoing rivalry between Uni of and Hallam, the Hallam Men’s Hockey Team has offered to lend our boys kit, in true sportsmanlike style.
Lewis said: “It made for a pretty memorably Manchester away day, and we’re trying to get the burnt hockey sticks from the bus so we can play Manchester for the ashes next year”