A SPOT check on school transport in High Wycombe resulted in six vehicles being taken off the road immediately.

A total of more than 200 buses, coaches and taxis were checked by police in the Thames Valley area and ten per cent were found to be unroadworthy.

The inspections were carried out between March 26 and April 6 after the children had been dropped off at school.

In High Wycombe, 30 buses and coaches were checked, with 20 per cent having to be taken off the road at once.

Another coach was allowed to be driven back to the depot but had to have faults fixed immediately afterwards.

Thames Valley Police targeted 18 sites across the area in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire in the Operation Coachman initiative.

Overall 20 vehicles had so many defects that they were immediately taken off the road.

The project was working in support of a national enforcement campaign aimed at improving the safety of passengers using school transport

Drivers of four other vehicles stopped for the initiative had no driving licence and four drivers had no operating licence for their vehicles.

Tickets were also given to six minibuses or private hire cabs for vehicle defects, such as a broken wiper blade or other problems that would fail an MOT.

Insp Dave Hartin, of Thames Valley Police traffic and operations, said: "These results show the obvious value of these checks."

He added: "We in Thames Valley Police take child road safety very seriously and this is one of a number of measures we use to ensure our youngsters are safe.

"We know that the majority of bus and taxi operators act in a responsible manner and carry out their own safety checks. We are sure they welcome our efforts to drive out rogue traders."

A spokesman for Buckinghamshire County Council said the county council carried its own independent checks once a term to ensure children travelled to school safely.

She said: "It's important that children are as safe as possible."

The spokesman added that the defects on the coaches stopped in High Wycombe were repaired immediately.

Alleged faults on one coach, including loose seats and a broken window, also led to Buckinghamshire County Council cancelling its contract with Howletts Coaches, Winslow, for the Stony Stratford to Aylesbury route.

The owner of Howletts Coaches was unavailable for comment.