Former Countryfile presenter Julia Bradbury calls the travel industry "evil" for inflating prices during school holidays. She has implored parents to ignore the law and take their children out and about the city in term time.
46-year-old Bradbury, who has a five-year-old son and one-year-old twins, said children need to spend more time outside school. Her urge, however, is a law currently challenged in the courts as parents can be fined if they take their youngsters on holiday during school terms.
Bradbury, also the president of The Camping and Caravanning Club, said many children were being robbed of valuable experiences and adventures due to the prohibitive cost of travel during the school holidays. She addressed her concerns about children spending relatively less time outside school due to the preoccupied school curriculum, more than even prisoners do, according to the Telegraph.
The former CountryFile presenter who now works for ITV, advised parents to come up with exciting plans on taking their children on an adventure as it will be educational and eye-opening for the youngsters. Bradbury highly recommended 'bucket and spade' holiday in term time, and said she would entirely support those families who wanted to take their children out during the time.
However, much of her focus was on the unfairness imposed on parents as they get penalised for taking away their children away during holiday periods, mainly caused by the ludicrous hike in price by the travel companies. "It is completely unfair. It's a child tax - it's cynical and the [travel] industry needs to stop being so evil," Bradbury told the Mail on Sunday.
Bradbury's controversial comments concerning the wellbeing of children is spurred by the ongoing case of a father from the Isle of Wight, and the Department of Education over this issue. Jon Platt who was threatened with a fine of £120 by Isle of Wight Council for taking his daughter on a holiday to Disneyland during term-time, refused to pay the fine and has taken the case to the Supreme Court.
