A tale of two minibuses
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MORE THAN £30,000 has been raised by schools throughout Greater Manchester to help Motability, which provides cars for the disabled. Of the prizes offered for exceptional effort, an 11-seat Beford Dormobile bus presented by the chassis and bodybuilders was the most important. Hugh Rossi, the minister responsible for the disabled, handed it over to Baguley Hall Junior School at Wythenshawe.
A minibus can, however, be a mixed blessing, as Lech Walesa, the Polish hero, has discovered. One was presented to him in 1981 by admirers in the West to transport his wife and children, of whom there were then six. He has now been ordered to pay £1,800 in tax and a fine for delay in reporting the gift.
A priest is said to have handled customs and tax arrangements, but the leader of Solidarity, the banned union, is still being hounded by tax officials. As he claims his assets amount to only about £500, the minibus may turn into a mini white elephant.