FOUR children from Warminster were left bitterly disappointed after train delays meant they missed out on a once in a lifetime star-packed London awards ceremony.

The pupils from Princecroft Primary School were stranded at Bath station last Wednesday morning, arriving in London hours after the awards ceremony was finished and the celebrities had gone home.

Daniel Kelleher, 11, Allan Bowman, Layla Hawkins and Scott Lawson, all 10, were heading for the British Library with teacher Alison Payne for the Right Here Right Now national awards ceremony, after they scooped first prize in the regional heats for their TV script.

Education Minister David Blunkett, former England football manager Kevin Keegan and a host of stars from Children's BBC were at the ceremony to sign autographs and present certificates.

However, rail delays and a bomb scare on the Underground meant a five-hour journey saw the pupils arrive at the party too late, missing the celebrities and their lunch.

Miss Payne said: "I was very disappointed for the children. They are not the sort of children who always win things and it really boosted them when they heard they had won.

"They were really upset Kevin Keegan had gone and all the other celebrities, only two were still there when we arrived.

"They had saved us a sandwich each but we were absolutely starving. I think we were only in London for about 40 minutes.

"They didn't grumble once. The school is very proud of them and the way they behaved on the train. At the end of the day they are still winners."