Parents campaigning for free bus passes for their children into Melksham have won the support of MP Duncan Hames.

On Wednesday the Chippenham MP joined parents to walk the route from Semington to Melksham Oak, which they say is dangerous and too long for their children.

Six children from Semington are due to take places in Year 7 at the new school in Devizes Road, Bowerhill, which has replaced George Ward School in Shurnhold, next week.

However, Wiltshire Council says that the new pupils will not receive free bus passes, as it is within three miles of the school. Pupils from Semington who received free bus travel to George Ward School will continue to do so to Melksham Oak for another year, but for new pupils a pass will cost £295.

Mr Hames has written to Wiltshire Council asking them to reconsider their position.

The walk, from Highfield Avenue in Semington, took the party of six parents, Mr Hames and several children, more than an hour.

Mr Hames, said: “I hope the council has some room for some discretion on this and don’t have to rely on a line drawn through the village saying this house gets a bus pass and this one doesn’t.

“We’ve proved today there’s no exaggeration on the part of the parents of how long it will take their children to walk to school in the morning.”

Neil Stockley, whose son William is due to start at Melksham Oak next week, said: “We’ve got a ridiculous situation where we have some children in a family who have a bus pass, and some don’t. They use the same bus, the same bus stop.

“The government is trying to encourage people to use public transport. Children should be able to make their own way to school. Hopefully common sense will prevail.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said: “We understand parents’ concerns, and have offered to meet them to walk this route when the school term starts. However, all routes used by pupils to get to school, which are less than three miles, are assessed by our road safety experts.

“The law states children must live at least three miles from their nearest school to receive free school transport.

“The closure of George Ward to the new state-of-the-art facilities at Melksham Oak School has of course changed the areas covered by this entitlement.”