Head supports bus battle

John Patterson says he has been worried for some time about the prospect of young children walking to school and has contacted the police and local education authority.

He said narrow pavements in the town posed a danger and it was a concern that young children were expected to walk to school or get a second service from the town centre.

"It seems an unnecessary danger and is a lot of responsibility to put onto the youngsters who start at just 11 years old," he said. "I don't believe it is a simple issue for the local education authority but I do think it is of greater importance than they seem to be considering.

"We don't have the legal power or the finances to organise transport for our pupils."

More than 130 people have signed a petition instigated by worried parents. They are angry that their children will not be taken directly to school, claiming the volume of traffic on the A650 and the vast numbers of youngsters wandering the streets will be a hazard.

Sergeant Allan Gee, of Keighley Police said: "Anything that improves road safety for pupils making their way to school would be very welcome from our point of view.

"To have a bus service that takes them directly to school would no doubt be beneficial.

"The main road from Bingley town centre to Bingley Grammar School is an extremely busy one, so there is obviously a potential danger there for pupils walking to school along it."

Khadim Hussain, First Bradford operations director, says there are no plans to install a direct service. Speaking earlier, he said: "There is an integrated public transport system in place with pupils able to catch a bus or train. In fact, we have improved the service from Eldwick to Bingley with frequency increased from 30 to 20 minutes."

A Bradford Council spokes-man said: "We have arranged for another bus to take children from the Eldwick area to Bingley centre and Metro will be monitoring the situation in September."