Campaigners hoping to stop Wiltshire Council axing their school buses are celebrating after the council announced a U-turn.

Wiltshire Council wants to cut its £170,000 subsidy to denominational schools which is used to provide school buses for children who live more than three miles from their faith school.

The change, due to be implemented from September 2012 if passed, will mean parents will have to fork out several hundred pounds more than they already do on transport, or make alternative arrangements.

Cabinet members were due to axe the subsidy at a meeting on July 26 but now the meeting has been deferred until September 13.

The decision is a victory for Michael Stevenson, chairman of governors at St Augustine’s College in Trowbridge where 400 pupils are affected.

He had fought to have the meeting date and time changed because of fears that many parents would not be able to have their say because the meeting fell during school holidays.

Council leader Jane Scott had dismissed the request, saying that delaying the decision would give parents less time to make plans.

But just 24 hours after the Gazette and Herald went to press last week, Coun Scott announced a complete U-turn on her decision. In an email to councillors she said that the meeting had now been deferred.

Welcoming the decision, Mr Stevenson said: “I am quite excited by this news.

“There has been immense public pressure on them to change the date to one that is convenient for those most affected by the decision and they have bowed to it.”

Coun Scott also sought to clarify her comments about how the proposals would affect schools across the county.

She said: “I may have given the impression the policy only applies to children attending Roman Catholic faith schools.

“I would like to clarify that the council’s policy is applied to all faiths, however the vast majority of applications are from Roman Catholics.”