CATHOLIC anger is mounting after the North-East’s biggest council axed free transport to faith schools.

Durham County Council, which faces cuts of £125m by 2015, axed the £2.2m-a-year subsidy last week, despite huge protest from parents, teachers and church leaders.

Now, as the shake-up’s true cost for families emerges, Catholic heavyweights are speaking out.

Father John Caden, who baptised Tony Blair’s children, said he was bitterly disappointed at the decision.

Canon Bob Spence, vicechairman of governors at St Bede’s RC School, in Lanchester, said: “I know that Durham County Council is facing cutbacks, but I feel ashamed that a Labour-led council has gone for soft targets and isn’t worried about discriminating against less affluent families.”

Stephen Hughes, Labour MEP for the North-East and a Catholic, said councillors had faced an extremely difficult decision, brought about by savage central government funding cuts, but the move would have “far reaching negative social consequences for many years to come”.

Michelle McCabe, a 34-yearold nurse from Leadgate, near Consett, has two sons, 15-yearold Callan and 12-year-old Aron at St Bede’s, Lanchester, and wants her youngest son, eight-year-old Ewan, to follow.

She said: “I think it’s disgusting.

I can’t believe they even thought about doing this. Everybody’s up in arms.

“The Catholic schools are going to be wiped out. The Catholic schools will be offering places to the nearest villages and filling up with Protestants and others.”

Mrs McCabe said she had not investigated how much it would cost to send Ewan to St Bede’s by bus, but he would attend the school, even if it meant her driving him there.

It has been claimed Catholic families could face bus fares of thousands of pounds a year.

Last week, council leader Simon Henig said he had a lot of sympathy with those opposing the changes but his authority was facing a “new world” of unprecedented spending cuts.

Free travel to faith schools in County Durham will be cut to new applicants from September 2012.

Council officials hope the move will save £1m by 2015.

Children on free school meals will still get free bus passes.