STAGECOACH has dropped a pre-Christmas bombshell on hundreds of children in Rodbourne by scrapping their school bus service.

And Swindon Council says it is unhappy about the route being cut but cannot do anything about it.

Commonweal School headteacher Keith Defter has written to parents telling them that Stagecoach services 36 and 37, which run from Rodbourne Cheney to Commonweal School, will not run after this term.

He says when the services were put out to tender there were no bids to take up the contract, and current provider Stagecoach does not wish to continue.

The announcement has disappointed parents like Wendy Hopkins, who says there are no other suitable ways for youngsters to get to school. There are more than 100 regular users of the services.

Wendy, 40, of Rose Street, has a 12-year-old daughter, Charlotte. She said: "I've now got to find a way of getting my daughter to school. The alternative to the school bus is to get a bus from Rodbourne into town, and then get the hospital service which runs via Goddard Avenue.

"I don't like the idea of my daughter having to do this on her own. You hear stories about bus drivers not letting kids on if they think there are too many.

"And I don't like the idea of my daughter walking through Faringdon Road Park, where there have been so many attacks reported."

Phillippa O'Leary, 51, of Montagu Street, has a 12-year-old son, Huw, who has just started at Commonweal School. Phillippa said: "I think the timing of this is really bad. It is winter it is dark in the mornings and dark at night."

Bob Dorr, Stagecoach operations director, said Stagecoach originally planned to stop the service in September but extended it after liaison with Swindon Council.

He said: "We have to make certain commercial decisions and make the best return on our investments. It does not merely boil down to the money side of things, there are other considerations."

Council spokeswoman Lynda Fleming added: "We're unhappy, but have done all we can to try and maintain the service.

"Since November, the council has subsidised the Rodbourne to Commonweal service temporarily, pending the results of a competitive tendering exercise.

"However, despite 17 operators being informed about the tenders, none wanted to take on the service.

"Had we received tenders, there's no guarantee the service could have continued as the budget for additional subsidised public transport is limited."

Ms Fleming added that the council had no legal obligation to provide a service for the Rodbourne children as they lived two-and-a-half miles from the school, and the council only had to provide buses for those living three miles or more away.

She admitted there was no direct bus for Rodbourne children, who would have to travel to the town centre and change buses. Using a child day rider ticket, this would cost £1.60 per day.

The current cost is £1.30