PARENTS have raised fears for the safety of children walking to school if a free bus service is removed.

PARENTS have raised fears for the safety of children walking to school if a free bus service is removed.

The school bus takes children to and from Hemingford Grey Primary School from the surrounding villages, but could stop running from September after being reviewed by Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC).

Rob Cantrell, whose two sons travel to the school from their home in Hemingford Abbots, is concerned that the cancellation of the bus will leave pupils with a dangerous daily walk to school.

He said: “It’s along a very hazardous, narrow and bendy route that will cause an accident if children negotiate it themselves.

“The paths are very narrow and there’s hardly any lighting during the winter.”

The council said that a full risk assessment and traffic survey had been carried out, and that the route pupils would walk had been deemed safe.

Mr Cantrell added: “The bus is a very valued service that has been established since the village school [in Hemingford Abbots] closed down in 1978, and has ferried countless children safely to the school in Hemingford Grey.”

A spokesman for CCC said: “We are reviewing our home-to-school transport services across the county, and there are several route reviews going on at the moment.

“A full risk assessment and traffic survey has been carried out, which shows the route is safe for children to use.

“The proposal is that the bus should discontinue from September this year.

“All parents of children at the school have been notified, as has the school, and will have an opportunity to make their views known before the final decision is made.”