A Herodsfoot mother who kept her two sons home from Liskeard Community College for the first two days of the new spring term, in protest at the loss of the school link bus service in their part of the village, lost her appeal this week to the County Education Authority to have it re-instated.

This decision was reached even though the link service still passes through Herodsfoot each day to collect other youngsters.

Mrs Annie Yeomans is now seeking legal advice to see if the decision is in contravention of the 1989 Children's Act, because she says her sons are being exposed to unnecessary risk and danger. She is also contacting South East Cornwall MP Colin Breed over the matter.

School bus

The problem has arisen because the County Council has changed its policy on link transport and increased the qualifying distance to the pick up point for main school transport from one mile to 1.5 miles. Seventeen year old Freddie Yeomans and his 15 year old brother Henry had been faced with a walk to the school bus every morning, and home again at night, of 1.3 miles in each direction, along a narrow, single track lane on a 1.6 hill. It was estimated that laden with heavy school bags, it would have taken them about 45 minutes and would have meant them leaving home at 7.15am in total darkness to walk to the bus pick up point along the St Keyne road.

However, Mrs Yeomans who works full time and is unable to transport the boys herself, says that as she is not prepared to put them in such danger she has now had to finance a private arrangement, having had free school transport since her sons were of primary age. 'Everyone knows of the dangers of this road' she said, 'yet the council expects them to walk along it each day, in all winds and weathers in total darkness, just to save money'.

Mrs Yeomans said the transport budget is over spent and the savings are purportedly to be ploughed back into education, but she said it would be wasted on her sons, in the middle of GCSEs and A levels, who would have had extra stress piled on to their study time.

She is also annoyed the council only invited a written appeal, and she was not allowed to attend in person. She has received a standard letter informing her that she has not been successful, but it gives no explanation as to why the appeal was turned down. An appeal from the parents of Adrian Walker (15) who also lives in the village and has the same problem, was also rejected.

The appeals to the council were also backed by a letter from the head teacher of Liskeard School, Alan Sedgley, and the full governing body.