A MOTHER said she is "appalled" that a school bus left her 11-year-old son alone at an Usk bus stop that is three miles from his home.

Lisa Hopkins, from Trostrey, said that her son Eden Cobbold's bus pass was being processed by Monmouthshire County Council, but that he had been able to catch the bus on his first week of lessons at Caerleon Comprehensive School.

She said: "The driver said he could go on bus without a pass, and the children with no passes were given a piece paper which would cover them for seven days.

“He is picked up by minibus at house taken to Usk where he catches the coach. He had already done that three times last week before there were any problems.”

On Monday, Eden caught the minibus to Twyn Square in Usk where he catches the coach. He was last in the queue to get on the bus, and when he told the driver he didn’t have his pass he was left alone at the bus stop.

Ms Hopkins said: “He rang me and said that the driver wouldn’t let him on bus because he didn’t have a bus pass.

“I’m appalled that they could do that. It’s just awful. He said that the driver shrugged shoulders, closed the coach door and drove off.

“The driver left him on his own. Luckily he sat down on bench and waited for me to come get him, but anything could have happened."

In response to the incident Monmouthshire County Council chief executive Paul Matthews said: “We know something went wrong on this occasion and we are going to be looking at our procedures to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“We transport thousands of children to school safely each day and we set ourselves high standards in terms of professionalism and care. We have apologised to the family.”

Ms Hopkins added that her son has now received a bus pass.