A BITTER row over school transport, which split a North Yorkshire community, appears to have been resolved.

When a bigger coach was assigned this term to the route to Maunby, between Thirsk and Northallerton, the driver had difficulty turning around having dropped children next to the village green.

The parish council was unhappy when wheel marks started to appear on the grass, but some residents were furious when they discovered the village administration had persuaded County Hall the school bus should drop their children off on the edge of the village instead.

They claimed youngsters could be at risk from passing traffic, particularly when the nights drew in, and wrote to the county council demanding a rethink.

Compromises, which could have seen a pub car park used as a turning point or the children dropped off at a farm entrance a little nearer the edge of the village, were both rejected.

Vale of York MP Ann McIntosh was then asked to intervene.

After a letter from the House of Commons arrived on the desk of the county council's chief executive, Jeremy Walker, a smaller bus was reinstated on the route which has, once again, been dropping children in the centre of the village.

"The problem was that the road to Maunby is a cul-de-sac and the lane around the village green as a narrow one," said Richard Owens, school transport spokesman at County Hall.

"When the bigger bus was introduced, it became evident it was too large to manoeuvre safely so we have managed to engineer a solution which means the children have to change onto a smaller bus - but they don't seem to mind," he said.

Resident, Nigel Morgan, confirmed the village now appeared satisfied.

"We would like to thank Ms McIntosh for her intervention," he said.