Margaret Keir has accused Stagecoach of "acting without thinking about the children" after it stopped the number 12 running between 3pm and 4.30pm on weekdays.



Margaret is the legal guardian and great aunt of Terri-Leigh Jones, 11, who has just started at Dyke House School, in Hartlepool, after finishing at West View Primary.

Terri-Leigh was expecting to use the number 12 that stops right outside her door.

But the service was stopped on August 26, a week before she started secondary school. Now Margaret worries for her niece because the alternative service, the number 6, sees her getting off at Brus Corner, half a mile away and on the opposite side of the road from her home in West View Road.

Margaret said: "My bairn has started at Dyke House but can't get home on the normal bus because they have cut it at the time she needs it most.

"Her only other option is to get the number 6 and get off at Brus Corner and cross a dual carriageway to get home, which is just not on.

"Late nights are coming as well and I just don't think it's safe to be walking along that road.

"I've been told that they are cutting the service to use the bus as a school bus for another school. What are our kids supposed to do instead? Why can't they have a bus? It's crazy."

Margaret, 50, has a 21-year-old son, Anthony, who has cerebral palsy and is married to Ken, 55, an offshore pipefitter.

"Anthony loves getting out and about, so it is also going to affect him because he can't walk the 10 minutes to the next bus stop," said Margaret.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach North East said: "The reason why this service has been stopped is simply because there are not enough people using the bus and it was needed elsewhere.

"We do not remove services lightly but there are alternatives available.

"We would be happy to speak to those involved and help them with any problems they have."