Teacher Gillian Hainsworth accused of stealing minibus full of children because of police blunder Music teacher Gillian Hainsworth was taking pupils on trip to concert Was questioned by police officer about 'stolen' vehicle Previously been reported stolen and was mistakenly on police database Officers jokingly handcuffed her so pupils could take photos A teacher ran into trouble as she took 28 pupils on a school trip - but was accused of stealing the minibus and surrounded by three police vans. Music mistress Gillian Hainsworth pulled up at the concert venue and was boxed in to the front, rear and side by the police vehicles. An officer leapt out and rapped on her window and ordered her to explain why she was driving a stolen vehicle. Officers saw the funny side of the confusion and put handcuffs on Gillian so her pupils could take photos Gillian, 51, was then questioned for 15 minutes as her husband anxiously looked on before police realised there had been a mix-up over the hired minibus. It had previously been reported stolen and was still mistakenly on the police database. Officers then saw the funny side of the confusion and put handcuffs on Gillian so her pupils could take photos which they posted on Facebook. Gillian, a teacher at Tadcaster Grammar School in North Yorkshire, said: 'When they said the word "stolen" I couldn't help but laugh because I knew I had not stolen the minibus. And it was so obvious that we were carrying a load of schoolchildren on the bus - what an odd way to use a stolen vehicle. 'It was incredible - I'll never forget it.' The mix-up came as Gillian took the pupils on the hour-long drive to Halifax Minster where they were performing in a concert The mix-up came as Gillian took the pupils on the hour-long drive to Halifax Minster where they were performing in a concert last Friday. Her husband Mike, 61, was driving the school bus ahead of her and she was in a hired minibus. She said: 'We were looking for the entrance of the minster when we were bombarded by police vans. One of them parked in front of the school bus, one alongside the two vans and the third behind my minibus. The confusion was cleared up when police called the hire company 'I didn't know what was going on. I was racking my brain trying to think of what we might have done wrong. To be honest I was quite embarrassed that the pupils were going to see us being pulled over for a traffic offence. 'An officer got out of one of the vans and knocked on my husband's window and had a quick word with him but then came over to my window. He told me they had been following us for about 15 minutes. I couldn't think what I had been doing wrong and was panicking for a minute. 'He said to me: 'Would you like to explain to me why you're driving a stolen vehicle?' I was completely shocked. I could see the students all grinning in the background - obviously the idea of a teacher nicking a minibus was amusing to them. 'I asked the policeman, 'Is this a setup?' and he replied: 'No, this isn't.' It was all very serious. 'I said, this is impossible, and started laughing because I couldn't believe what was happening. The officer asked me to get out of the van and my husband had got out of his van and we were just looking at each other in amazement. The confusion was cleared up when police called the hire company who confirmed Gillian's husband had hired the minibus. Gillian added: 'One of the officers came towards me with his handcuffs and I knew he was joking. 'He told me that there had been a mix up - I think the vehicle had been reported stolen previously and was still on the police's database. He put the handcuffs on me and all the kids got out their mobile phones and took pictures - which were all over Facebook soon enough I hear. 'The jokes continued after the performance when the compere announced 'We've got to let Mrs Hainsworth go now because she's got to go back to her cell'. 'On Monday when I got back to school there were all sorts of rumours flying about and pupils were asking me if I'd spent the weekend in prison.' Gillian added that she had no complaint about the police officers and said: They were only doing their job and, as it turned out, had a good sense of humour about it all. West Yorkshire Police confirmed the van had been stopped after it had shown up on the Police National computer as stolen. A spokesman said it had been mistakenly been reported as stolen to police, and its details had now been removed from the computer.