Row after child asleep on bus ends up at depot

Family of six-year-old boy now leading calls for a dedicated school bus service

Rural parents are locked in a school transport row with Angus Council after an incident which saw a sleeping six-year-old remain unnoticed on a double-decker bus all the way to its depot in Forfar.

The Brechin primary youngster was travelling on the top deck of the public service he has to use to get to school when he nodded off.

A childminder alerted his mum and she dashed to the bus depot after desperately trying to alert the council and bus company.

The boy’s family is now leading calls for a dedicated school bus after highlighting concerns about the risk to youngsters using public transport for school travel.

As well as incidents such as their son’s, they say there is a fear of sex offenders sharing the public service with young pupils.

Angus Council said the incident had been immediately reported to the Care Inspectorate and changes had been introduced.

The boy’s mum said: “The safety measures in place are not effective and absolutely nothing has changed.”

Parents are fighting for school bus changes after a sleeping six-year-old was taken to a depot 55 minutes away from his stop after a driver failed to spot him.

The boy was on the top deck of a public service double decker running between Brechin and Forfar when he nodded off and the coach passed his house without stopping.

A worried childminder, who had expected the bus to stop, phoned the youngster’s mother and she made a frantic dash to the Forfar bus depot to collect her son.

The Care Inspectorate carried out a probe and has recognised the investigation undertaken by Angus Council.

However, despite assurances from the authority, the family involved says it is still unhappy that primary pupils are having to travel unaccompanied on the public service.

The boy, whose family do not wish to be named, is a pupil at Brechin’s Maisondieu Primary and was on his way home when he fell asleep on the upper floor of the 21B service, which some local pupils have to use to get to school.

The boy’s mother said: “He fell asleep,

“Anyone could be on the bus with these children – how do we know that a sex offender might not be sitting a couple of seats away, among primary children?

slid down the seat and the driver didn’t see him so he didn’t stop at the house and took him right into Forfar.

“He was OK and thought he had done something wrong, but this is just part of the issue we have with a public bus being used for young children.

“Anyone could be on the bus with these children – how do we know that a sex offender might not be sitting a couple of seats away, among primary children?”

She added: “If the bus fails to stop, the child could try and get off at the first available stop, which in my son’s case would be Finavon – a stop which is on the dual carriageway, that he might then try to cross on his own if he was in a panic.”

“The safety measures that are supposedly in place are not effective and absolutely nothing has changed,” the mother added.

“I don’t believe this method of transport is suitable for primary aged children and also believe I have the support of other parents whose children use this service or are to use it in the near future.

“I strongly believe a designated school minibus with a regular driver would be much more appropriate.”

An Angus Council spokesman said: “The matter was immediately reported to the Care Inspectorate.

“Measures have been introduced to prevent a similar incident happening in the future.

“We continue to engage with the family and would encourage them to raise any issues or concerns they have directly with ourselves, or the contact we have provided to them at the Care Inspectorate.”