Pupils left in tears as mayor and wife fall asleep watching school musical

Children at Vale First and Middle School in Worthing, West Sussex, were excited to be entertaining Mayor Noël Atkins and his wife Helena at their production of Bugsy Malone. However, the budding actors’ confidence was crushed when their guests of honour dozed off within minutes of curtains up on their rendition of the gangster story. Some of the youngsters, aged 11, were left sobbing during the interval, believing that the couple’s lethargy was a reflection of their performance.

Parents condemned Mr Atkins’s behaviour as “appalling” and demanded that he apologise. One mother, Tina Knowlson, 42, who was in the audience, said: "The kids all worked really hard and rehearsed loads and were really proud of it. It was a big night for them to do it in front of the mayor - he was the VIP. The least he and his wife could have done was to stay awake for the performance. It's a shame he ruined what could have been a special night for them."



Another parent, who asked not to be named, said: "The couple were the guests of honour but within 20 minutes they had both fallen asleep. It's just disappointing for the children. Some of them were crying during the interval and asked what they were doing wrong. They thought the mayor was bored because their performance wasn't good enough."

The council confirmed that Mr Atkins, 66, had nodded off during the show, but said it had been his final official engagement after a “very tough day”. A spokeswoman said: “He dozed off during the performance but it wasn’t as if he was snoring. Apologising yesterday, Mr Atkins blamed his wife's medication tablets and his heavy cold for their snooze.