'Children's free travelcard was my lifeline'

Children in London are currently entitled to Oyster cards allowing free or discounted travel, depending on their age.

But Transport for London (TfL) announced free travel for children would temporarily end as part of the government's £1.6bn lockdown bailout conditions.

Josh, 14, chair of Young Advisors Lewisham, uses the passes to get to school, volunteering and the shops.

He started an online petition and wrote to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps asking him to reverse the decision.

The Department for Transport said: “We want to assure him that the decision about under-18 travel is a temporary measure to help tackle the spread of Covid-19 and reduce the risk of crowding on our transport network.”

Video by Jamie Moreland.