By Jonathon Hill,Twm Owen

Copyright walesonline

Parents and children have shared their anger after the removal of a school bus service in their area led to them having to walk almost an hour to and from school. After Monmouthshire Council cancelled free transport for any pupil within a certain radius from their school for the new academic year, some families said they have been left having to make the long walk from home to school. Mother-of-three Jenny Sullivan, whose children attend the Dell Primary School in Chepstow and live in the village of St Arvans, said her children now face a 55-minute walk to school after the changes came into force earlier this month. She said her eldest child must also walk along a 50mph road and a shared cycle path in order to get to secondary school. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter Last term the family qualified for free transport, however that was removed when the new academic year began earlier this month after Monmouthshire Council altered the qualifying distances in a bid to cut costs. Under the new rules pupils must live a further distance away from school to qualify for free transport. It means the minimum distance has gone from 1.5 miles to two miles for primary school pupils and from two to three miles for those at secondary schools. Drivers have been told to drive past some stops in St Arvans because those children no longer qualify as they live too close to school. Ms Sullivan, 42, said: “It is just physically impossible for young children to walk that distance twice a day everyday and it is also tiring for them when they arrive at school.” She said she is also worried about the route that her 13-year-old takes to school. “It’s not really safe,” she added. “It’s a 50mph road and a shared cycle path. Emissions are also a worry as they are being more exposed to that if they are having to walk it every day.” Other families are also affected and Ms Sullivan highlighted the plight of one parent who she said has to make a nearly four-mile round trip twice a day with a child too young for school. She said: “One little child has just started reception, they’ve just turned four, and their parent also has a toddler who has to walk with them and walk back from school as well.” St Arvans is on the edge of the new qualifying distances so some families still qualify for free transport. Ms Sullivan added: “Children cannot understand why their friends living in the next street within the same village still have a bus space when they do not. The policy has split the village in half.” Monmouthshire Council stated that it altered its home-to-school transport policy to align with the Welsh Government’s statutory qualifying distances, aiming to save £700,000. However, the council maintains that children would not be required to walk where no safe route exists. Parents in St Arvans claim the council has informed them that it considers the route to be safe following a risk assessment. They are now awaiting an independent assessment as part of the appeal process. Ms Sullivan is waiting for the outcome of the appeal but noted that the delay in resolution before the start of the school year has caused complications. Her employer has been flexible about allowing her to collect her children, but she may need to consider after-school childcare, something which could cost around £25 a day for two children. She also questioned whether the council will make the projected savings as the school bus still has to pass through the village, albeit with many vacant seats. Ms Sullivan stated that while parents have been offered transport it would come at a cost of £540 annually per child and she believes payment is demanded in advance. Monmouthshire Council has been asked to comment.