AN Astwood Bank mum has hit out after her 12-year-old daughter was told she will not qualify for a seat on a direct school bus because of where they live.

Kelly Lines was told her daughter Sophie, who is due to start at Kingsley College next month, did not qualify for a place on the bus because they live within three miles of the school.

The county's bus is only available to children living three miles away or more but the Lines family, who live in Cyprus Avenue, are just inside the designated area.

Mrs Lines claims she has been told if there are surplus spaces she may get a place on the bus at a cost of £88 a term but will not be told until the end of September - after Sophie has already started at her new school.

"I'm horrified. Sophie is going to this school because we're in its catchment area but now we're told she probably won't get a place on the school bus because we live a miniscule distance outside the three-mile radius. Children just up the road have qualified," she said.

"I refuse to send my child on a bus into the town centre and then back out every morning to get to school by 8.50am. At just turned 13, she will be too young. It's not fair."

Mrs Lines added: "It's nerve-wracking enough starting a new school without this added upset."

But a county council spokesman said Sophie lived 2.88 miles from Kingsley and the Government rules that any secondary school-age child could reasonably be expected to walk a distance of three miles.

''We understand Mrs Lines' concerns about the availability of places becoming available on the transport provided for those living outside the three-mile zone.

"However, it's impossible for us to say if there will be space available on the bus as we have no way of knowing how parents will choose to get their children to school.

''If there are free spaces, these are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis so we'd advise putting Sophie's name forward as soon as possible.''