A HEAD TEACHER from Ringwood missed his own mother’s funeral after he was left stranded in Malaga.

Derek Brooks, head teacher at Allenbourn Middle School in Wimborne, Dorset, was close to tears as he boarded Celebrity Eclipse.

Derek and wife Jackie were due to fly out on April 4 from Bournemouth Airport, but rescheduled the holiday after his mother, Betty, died on April 3 after a battle with cancer.

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The couple rebooked their holiday and flew out on April 11. They were due to return on Sunday, April 18, in time for the 87-year-old’s funeral in Bridgwater, Somerset, on Tuesday.

“I missed my mother’s funeral,” Mr Brooks said.

“We tried every way to get home, but we just couldn’t.

We hit the depths, that is fair to say.

“When the volcano started last Thursday we thought it would pass and that we would get home.

“The panic set in on Saturday and we looked into trains, ferries, hiring a car and car-sharing. We looked at everything and we knew we couldn’t get back in time.

“That is life I guess. I will be alright when I get on the boat. It will be good to get home, but there you go.

“In the grand scheme of things it has been very frustrating, mainly because of the lack of attendance at the funeral.

“We have been treated very well. Thomson couldn’t have done anything more. I think we did everything we could.

“I have three sisters and between Jackie and I we have five children. All of the grandchildren were at the funeral.

“I think there are three of us teachers stranded somewhere at the moment.

“I know the school will run smoothly without me, it’ll be absolutely fine.

“If it hadn’t been for this funeral then we would have just laughed about it all.”