TV school guru 'took kids' cash then flew off to meet religious cult'
A TV education guru took thousands of pounds from deprived schoolchildren for a trip to the Caribbean - then cancelled it at the last minute and instead flew to a religious cult conference, it has been revealed.
The teenagers, from London, who each paid £1,000 for the educational holiday to Trinidad and Tobago are yet to get a refund.
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The missing TV guru: Parents who paid Yolande Beckles £1,000 for an educational trip have heard nothing more from her
Twelve children signed up for the trip, set to start on 10 July. But that day, organiser Yolande Beckles - star of BBC2 show Don't Mess With Miss Beckles - called the trip off, claiming one of her children was gravely ill.
But it is understood that air tickets were never purchased.
Angry: Funmi Wood and her son Gbenga fear the trip to the West Indies they were sold by Yolande Beckles will never happen
Five days later, Ms Beckles is believed to have travelled with her family to South Korea for meetings arranged by religious cult the Universal Peace Federation - the Moonies.
Miss Beckles claimed she had rearranged the Caribbean trip for 23 August - this Thursday. But despite repeated calls, parents have heard nothing more.
Civil servant Funmi Wood, 40, from Neasden, whose 16-year-old son Gbenga had been due to go on the trip, said today: "She appears to have absconded and I have not got my money back."
Miss Beckles was unavailable for comment today.
She was previously sacked from a charity for allegedly misusing a credit card and overpaying her mother. At least one of her businesses has failed, leaving debts of £125,000.
