Seven Melton schoolchildren left '˜crying and angry' after bus fails to pick them up three days running

The mother of one of the youngsters said the ordeal had left them ‘crying and angry’ and parents had to take time off work to take them to John Ferneley College and Long Field Academy in Melton.

Leicestershire County Council this week apologised for the transport failures and confirmed that taxis had now been arranged to pick up the schoolchildren.

The mother who made contact asked us not to reveal the exact location of where the buses failed to turn up, which was a stop on the A607 near Melton.

She said: “Children had to wait half-an-hour until a parent was able to leave work to collect them.

“On the morning when the bus was full and the seven children couldn’t get on, the children were crying and angry - one boy said ‘this is my GCSE year, I don’t need this’.

“One girl was so upset she had to supported by pastoral care once she did get into class because she felt so worried.

“My son was left stranded and I feel very upset and worried for my child’s safety.”

The bus operators, Nigel Jackson Travel, of Thurmaston, declined to comment on the failure of the bus to arrive last Tuesday and Wednesday and the lack of available seats on the Thursday.

But a spokesperson for County Hall, which oversees school transport, said: “We are aware there have been some issues with the service for pupils in this village.

“Following the concerns raised by parents, we have reviewed the situation and have taken steps to introduce alternative transport by taxi, which came into effect from Monday.

“We would like to apologise to parents for any inconvenience that has been caused.”