Number of children driven to primary school in NI rises

The number of children being driven to school in Northern Ireland has risen in the past five years.

According to statistics published by the Department for Infrastructure, 67% of primary school pupils travelled by school compared to 59% in 2013/14.

The Continuous Household Survey found that half of children live within one mile of their school.

Anne Madden, from walking and cycling charity Sustrans, said: "We, as a society, have a lot more to do."

The study found that 22% of children usually walked to and/or from school while 9% took the bus, and 1% cycled.

Ms Madden described the figures as "woeful".

"Walking or cycling to school is a simple way of incorporating more exercise into a child's daily routine. This can help tackle both the obesity epidemic and improve children's overall health and wellbeing."

Among post-primary school pupils, 48% travelled to and from school by bus as their main mode of travel, while a further 35% travelled by car; 14% of pupils walked and 2% took the train.