SCHOOLCHILDREN who pay to use school buses in the Stockton area will now have to switch to public transport following council cutbacks.

Stockton Borough Council said "unprecedented financial challenges" meant only those entitled to free transport will still be able to use its school bus service.

It added that coach firm Compass Royston will lay on public buses instead, which children can pay to use each day.

One parent, whose child lives in Ingleby Barwick but attends Conyers School in Yarm, posted a picture on Facebook of the council's letter and said: "Just had this letter about school bus service - how many families will be affected by this on Ingleby? It's a disgrace."

Another parent said: "Maybe I'm being over sensitive but I won't want my 11-year-old getting on a public bus morning and night, especially when it's dark.

"I wouldn't mind them getting on a school bus that only pupils from that school get on.

"If we left our 11-year-old in town and left them to get home on their own and something happened to them, we as parents would be vilified but it's OK for our local authority to do it."

The council's cabinet member for children and young people, Ann McCoy, said: “The council is tackling unprecedented financial challenges and the more savings we have to find the tougher the decisions we have to make become.

“Consequently, we have to refocus our priority on using our limited resources to meet our statutory obligation to retain a bus service for those children who are entitled to free school transport in line with current policy.

"However, we have worked closely with Compass Royston and are delighted that they have agreed to run three new public service routes which will cater for young people who are not eligible for free school travel at a cost of just £2 per day.

“We will write to parents again later in the summer with further details relating to these routes.”

Children are entitled to free transport if they attend their catchment school and it is more than three miles from home, or two miles for children who receive free school meals, or if there is no safe walking route to their catchment school.

Pupils who opt to attend a school outside their catchment area are not entitled to free transport, but parents could pay £100 per term, or £1.57 per day, for their child to catch the school bus.