A BUS operator has apologised after one of its drivers refused to allow a group of children travelling home from school to board one of its connecting services in Chester.

The incident, which involved Saughall-based pupils from Upton-by-Chester High School, occurred last week at the city centre bus interchange.

An email – shared with The Standard – which has been sent to Stagecoach by a parent whose children were among the group claims they were told they could not board the service because it was "adults only" and "only for children already on the bus".

It meant the affected pupils had to wait 25 minutes for another service to arrive so they could finally complete their journey home to Saughall.

The email added: "Because of this situation there are a number of children, many of them Year 7's (11-years-old), who are still in their first week of high school now incredibly anxious and worried to use your services. Not to mention the additional time this is adding onto their day.

"Over the last four days there have been issues over buses being late, stranded children through avoidable confusion on routes, and now the refusal of service."

Another parent said her daughter had felt "intimidated" and is now "extremely hesitant" about travelling home by bus.

The Standard understands that follow up action is being taken by the bus operator following recent incidents and the driving team will be briefed on the correct arrangements for children travelling to and from school.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire said: "We are very sorry to hear of some issues experienced by some of the children at Upton High School and we would like to apologise to the children and their parents.

"We have followed this up with the drivers concerned, and we will ensure that all drivers are aware of the correct arrangements for children travelling to and from the school, where they need to travel on regular service buses and change in Chester.

"We are also providing extra capacity on these services.

"We will continue to work with Cheshire West and Chester Council around the arrangements for travel to and from Upton High School and we are committed to ensuring we deliver a reliable service for all our passengers."

The incident comes after The Standard reported last month that anxious parents in Saughall, as well as Mollington, were concerned about the safety of their children due to the lack of a dedicated high school bus service.

They are once again pleading with Cheshire West and Chester Council to help facilitate a direct service from the villages.

In an email sent to a number of councillors, parent Michelle Collins, from Saughall, said: "I could go on to talk about the mental anxiety for the children, the disruption to education, the stress for parents trying to work and getting soul destroying calls from children dumped in town or unable to get to town.

"Keyworkers who we have spent time clapping who have no flexibility whatsoever who leave for work each day not knowing whether their child will make it to school and back in a safe manner, the environment and the fact that this situation goes against every environmental policy that you have, however I have spent countless hours doing this already.

"I am exhausted by the torrid situation and I would hope that you would recognise these issues exist."

Councillor Bob Cernik, portfolio holder for children and families, has confirmed that he has instructed the authority's bus liaison team to ask some questions about the way the Stagecoach service is currently being run.

We have approached Cheshire West and Chester Council for a comment.