ANGRY Amman Valley parents have slammed a school bus-pass mix up with Neath Port Talbot Council, which left children distraught on what should have been their first day at secondary school.

Pupils attending Ysgol Dyffryn Aman were refused on their school bus on the first day of term because they didn't have the pass, issued every year by the council.

Parent Craig Moses, whose child was turned away, said: “We are disappointed and angry that the bus driver refused our children on without a pass.

“Parents living in the Carmarthenshire district didn’t have the problem, it only seemed to happen to those living in Neath Port Talbot,” he added.

Mr Moses, of Stanley Street, Gwaun cae Gurwen, described how he witnessed a number of distressed children at the stop, who were already nervous at the prospect of starting secondary school.

He said: “The poor kids looked bemused and very upset, this is the last thing they needed on their first day at school.

“We were not aware the children needed one (a pass) – there has been a complete lack of communication between parents and Neath Port Talbot Council.

A council spokesman said: “It was unfortunate that some children weren’t allowed on the school bus on Tuesday. However, all families of children resident in NPT who requested transport had been informed by letter that free transport would not be provided.

"They were denied travel on the bus on Tuesday because they had not purchased a bus pass. As a concession, the pupils have been allowed to travel since then and another application form is being sent to their families who will now have until October half-term to buy the necessary bus pass.”