PUPILS WERE GIVEN JOINT OF CANNABIS BY TEACHER

A HISTORY teacher passed a cannabis joint around a group of pupils during a
school outing, a court in Manchester was told yesterday.

Gary Robinson, 43, was looking after a party of children on a charity cycle
ride from Morecambe to Scarborough.

He shared the joint with at least three pupils after he bumped into them
during an overnight stop at York University, Minshull Street Crown Court
was told.

One of the pupils had already visited Mr Robinson's home in Droylsden, near
Manchester, where the teacher would roll joints, it was alleged. Once he
had taken the youngster, known to the court as Boy A, to a local beauty
spot to smoke the drug. He was one of 30 boys taking part in the cycle ride
in October 1996. The school cannot be named for legal reasons.

Mr Robinson denies four charges of supplying cannabis to Boy A and one of
supplying the drug to another pupil.

Howard Baisden, for the prosecution, said that Boy A had quarrelled with
another teacher when he and two other pupils came across Mr Robinson and a
friend, known as "Hippy Paul", near an ornamental lake. He said: "Paul said
to the defendant, 'Do you want to wait until they have gone to bed?' But
the defendant said, 'Just do it now.' Then cannabis was produced, rolled
into a joint and passed around the group."

The trial continues.