WEST DORSET: A Marshwood mum says she feels her family is ‘at risk’ after Dorset County Council ruled her four-year-old son would have to walk to school along an unlit country road with no pavement.

Paramedic Ann-Marie Chapman, 35, said a change in Dorset County Council’s classification of the road meant they lost out on a school taxi place for her son, who now has to walk along the B3165 even though many vehicles speed along the road.

She said: “My son Alex started at Marshwood School in September. I applied for school transport beforehand but by July, I had heard nothing so I had to make a few calls.

“I was told the council had now deemed the road safe so we wouldn’t qualify [for transport], and the council said other parents had now been sent letters saying they would have their taxi places withdrawn on February 13.”

Now the parents have joined forces to fight the withdrawal of the taxis, as many are concerned for the safety of their children.

Dorset Police said research conducted in July 2013 and October 2014 showed 15 per cent of drivers exceeded speeds of 40mph, and the maximum recorded speed was 72mph – despite the recently introduced 30mph speed limit on that road.

Mrs Chapman said: “I’m very anxious. Every time I do it I feel like I’m putting our lives at risk.

“There have been quite a few times when I have been walking down that road and drivers had to slam on their brakes.

“It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt for them to wake up and realise something’s wrong.”

A spokesman for Dorset County Council said: “A road safety audit carried out in October showed the B3165 from Marshalsea to Marshwood School was now an acceptable walking route for children accompanied by an adult, due to the introduction of a 30mph speed limit.

“As a result, the entitlement to free school transport for children in that area will be withdrawn.

“There are no plans to carry out another safety audit of that stretch of road.

“However, families may appeal to the county council if they feel there are special circumstances which mean their entitlement should be reviewed.”

Mrs Chapman said she had appealed the council’s decision as she was told she has ‘special grounds’ for a review because she has to walk Alex to school with a pushchair for younger child Sam.

She continued: “The appeal process has been extremely stressful and drawn out. I’m a busy mum of two, I work full time.

“It’s been difficult getting the time to do everything to go through the further appeal.

“It’s quite frustrating as Dorset County Council declared there needs to be road and traffic calming there. Why can’t the two departments talk to each other?”

She added: “In an ideal world they would reclassify the road saying it’s not safe for any children to walk it.

“Until it’s made safer, none of us are happy to walk that road.”

West Dorset district councillor Jacqui Sewell used to live in the area and said: “From 1975-87 I walked my foster children to school. At times I felt like I was taking my life in my hands, bearing in mind traffic volume has worsened [since then].”

Mrs Chapman said a neighbour who was affected by the withdrawal of transport met up with West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin to walk the route, and Mr Letwin sent the council’s head of environment Mike Harries a letter.

Mrs Chapman said: “Mike replied saying the road was safe. Basically, Oliver Letwin then emailed us to say it was a disappointing response, and he’s meeting with us during his surgery in Charmouth on January 30.”

West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin, said: “Having walked the route, I am convinced that it is not a safe route to school in any useful meaning of those terms, and the latest speed data reinforces that view. I am pursuing this further.”

The council’s decision to cut school transport on the B3165 comes as members learned the children’s services department is £1.5m over budget, including a £426,000 overspend on transport for children.