Pupils stranded after Denwell Coaches stops bus routes

Routes to a number of schools have ceased with immediate effect

Pupils have been left without transport after a bus firm had its licence revoked over safety concerns.

Denwell Mini Coaches Ltd was told to stop operating by the Traffic Commissioner from 31 March.

A report said some of its vehicles were old, had "dangerous defects" and had failed MOTs, while its transport manager had "lost his good repute".

The company, also known as Denwell Coaches, has been approached for comment.

Although the firm's licence had been due to be revoked at the end of March, it appears it has stopped its school routes with immediate effect.

In a recorded answerphone message, Denwell Coaches said: "Due to schools giving out information claiming that we are not continuing to operate and creating a social media frenzy that has followed, our school routes have become inoperable with immediate effect.

"Due to the unacceptable abuse levelled at our staff on Friday we have taken the decision to deal with customer enquiries by email only."

The firm had five school transport contracts with Wiltshire Council and provided transport for hundreds of children attending Gloucestershire schools such as Pates Grammar School, Marling School and Stroud High School.

Wiltshire Council said it was working on securing alternative transport for pupils, while Gloucestershire County Council said it had removed the firm from its list of approved transport providers.

'Left stranded'

Parent James Beck said the first time he knew about the suspension was on Monday morning.

"Other than our son ringing us and saying the bus hadn't turned up, the only reason we knew as much as we did was the school published something on its website," he told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"We've been using them for seven years and they haven't been perfect - there have been continued problems with breakdowns, poor planning and with little or no communication.

"When it happened Monday morning it wasn't a complete surprise - but it transpired they just decided to stop serving the bus routes for 300 kids that were left stranded," he said.

It comes after a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency maintenance investigation and a report from government traffic commissioner Kevin Rooney, published on 30 January, which identified safety concerns over the firm's fleet of vehicles.

The company's sole director, Darren Brown, has been disqualified from being a traffic manager for a year until he "sits and passes again his transport manager certificate of professional competence", Mr Rooney said in his findings.

'Packed up shop'

Matthew Symons, whose daughter has been affected, said he was not that surprised by the news.

"We thought it was going to operate until 31 March when it simply didn't turn up on Monday morning. I had an inkling that this might be the case," he said.

"It was obvious that I needed to take my daughter in that day.

"We didn't know if it was a delay on Monday morning and it would resume on Monday afternoon, but it became apparent they had packed up shop and weren't going to offer us what we'd already paid for," he added.

All Gloucestershire schools served by the firm have been approached for comment but only Stroud High School provided a statement.

"Our priority at present is supporting our parents with transport for their child to come to school. We are unable to comment any further on the situation," the school said.

Wiltshire Council cabinet member for transport, councillor Caroline Thomas, said affected schools in Royal Wootton Bassett and Purton had been contacted.

Stroud High School said supporting parents was its priority

She added: "The company's licence to operate will terminate on 31 March, which gives us some time to find alternative travel arrangements... and our officers are working hard to secure travel from 1 April for these students.

"There had been concerns about the maintenance of Denwell Coaches' vehicles, but the commissioner is satisfied that the remedial measures put in place will keep the vehicles safe for a short period of time, which explains why the licence hasn't been immediately terminated."

Gloucestershire County Council said it did not have any contracted routes with the company.

A spokesperson added the council was not responsible for transport to grammar schools but it had been helping schools in their search for alternative providers.

A number of other bus companies have said they would be willing to cover the routes as long as there was sufficient demand.