A MUM says she feels her family are ‘at risk’ after Dorset County Council ruled her four-year-old son would have to walk to school along an unlit country road with no pavement.

Paramedic Ann-Marie Chapman, 35, said a change in Dorset County Council’s classification of the road meant they lost out on a school taxi place for her son, who now has to walk along the B3165 even though many vehicles speed along the road.

She said: “My son Alex started at Marshwood School in September. I applied for school transport but by July, I had heard nothing so I had to make a few calls.

“I was told the council had now deemed the road safe so we wouldn’t qualify (for transport), and the council said other parents had now been sent letters saying they would have their taxi places withdrawn on February 13.”

Now the parents have joined forces to fight the withdrawal of the taxis, as many are concerned for the safety of their children.

Dorset Police said research conducted in July 2013 and October 2014 showed 15 per cent of drivers exceeded speeds of 40mph, and the maximum recorded speed was 72mph – despite the recently-introduced 30mph speed limit on that road.

Mrs Chapman said: “I’m very anxious. Every time I do it I feel like I’m putting our lives at risk.

“There have been quite a few times when I have been walking down that road and drivers had to slam on their brakes. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt for them to wake up and realise something’s wrong.”

A spokesman for Dorset County Council said: “A road safety audit carried out in October showed the B3165 from Marshalsea to Marshwood School was now an acceptable walking route for children accompanied by an adult, due to the introduction of a 30mph speed limit.

“As a result, the entitlement to free school transport for children in that area will be withdrawn.

“There are no plans to carry out another safety audit of that stretch of road.”