Appeal mistake gives children ticket to ride

Mums and dads living in Osmington complained to Dorset County Council that youngsters having to walk to St Andrews Primary School along White Horse Hill as part of their 2.9-mile journey were not safe because part of the route does not have a footpath.

To qualify for free transport to school, children between five and seven have to walk two miles or more, and children aged between eight and 15 over three miles - so long as the shortest reasonable route recommended by the county council is safe.

That meant parents of children aged eight or more who use the school buses were having to pay £105 for a yearly pass.

After the parents voiced their protests in the Echo in August, the county council reversed its decision and gave all children in the village free passes - but only because the minutes of the parents appeal hearing were recorded wrongly.

Eric Horniblow, Dorset County Council's passenger transport manager, admitted the mistake.

He said: "The law states free transport must be provided if a route is deemed unsafe and although the appeals committee rejected the parents' calls, the minutes of the meeting wrongly read that the route was deemed unsafe for children to walk.

"That meant we were obliged to provide free transport," he said.

Suzanne Hope, of Hill Cottage, said she was delighted her daughters - Anna, eight, and Nicole, four, could now travel to St Andrews safely.

She said: "The county council giving us free passes is a big relief, particular as the dark nights are around the corner. Anna was starting to become really upset about it all so when she heard she was getting a free bus pass she was really happy."

Mary Hooper, whose eight-year-old daughter Sarah goes to the school, said: "It wasn't the cost of the passes we were concerned about but the principle of the matter. It had dragged on a long time but now it's over we are all very pleased," she said.