After nearly three weeks of walking to and from school in the bad weather, angry parents in the Amman Valley have reignited the fight for a bus service to return at Ysgol y Bedol.

The long running bus service stopped at the beginning of this term and parents are now concerned for the welfare of their children after they have been forced to keep them off school poorly because they have been ‘soaked’ walking to and from school.

Emyr Rees, of Glymoch, who has a nine-year-old son at the school, said: “I was absolutely sick to come home from work last week to see how wet my 20-month-old daughter was after having to walk nearly two miles up and two miles back with my partner Jess to get my son Jack from school.

“To add insult to injury, Jess saw a seven seater taxi dropping the children with bus passes to school with three seats empty.

“She also saw a mini bus pick them up. If there are empty seats on the taxi then surely they can carry a few more paying pupils.

I am willing to pay for my son to get back and for to school.

“We have had no consultation from the school that the service would be finishing and most parents found out after seeing a sign in the window on the school bus during the last few weeks of the summer term.”

Mr Rees also questioned why Carmarthenshire County Council couldn’t arrange with other companies in the area to pick up the school’s pupils on return trips.

“To ensure the children in our community get to and from school why can’t the council arrange with one of companies who run the Amman Valley Comprehensive School bus service to pick up and drop off Ysgol y Bedol pupils at a few stops on the main road when they are returning to the depot,” he said.

“Even a walk to and from the Raven bus stop and Ysgol y Bedol would be better than the long trek up a busy and dangerous road.

“We have been left down the council and I hope that a system can be put in place in the near future.

“As well as the priority of getting our school children to their place of education in a safe manner, we could also encourage more pupils on to this service and out of their parent’s private cars.

“It would reduce congestion on our roads and around the school which will reduce the carbon emissions within our community."

County executive board member for transport services, Cllr Hazel Evans, said: “The authority provides school transport for primary pupils living more than two miles from school in accordance with its statutory obligations placed on it by Welsh Government. Where children live fewer than the two miles to the primary school, as in this case, a parent is responsible for ensuring a pupil’s attendance at school.

“A commercial service used to be operate in the area concerned. However, an operator withdrew it because of a lack of use. When the service was withdrawn, the authority approached a number of bus operators to provide a service on a commercial basis. Those operators who were approached included those operators travelling up and down the valley. Unfortunately no operators wished to provide a service.

“The authority continues to be proactive in trying to stimulate a commercial interest in running a service.

“Over the last two weeks there have been discussions with the family concerned to try and find a solution.”