'Obnoxious' staff took bus passes from schoolchildren after a mix up between two county councils, a parent has claimed.

The mum of a pupil at The Chase alleges several bus passes were confiscated on the S44 bus service, including her daughter's, and have not been returned.

She said the bus staff member was behaving obnoxiously and the confiscation was due to a mix up between Worcestershire County Council and Herefordshire County Council.

Worcestershire County Council has acknowledged the incident which they said happened to a single child and claimed it was due to an incorrectly allocated pass.

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “We can confirm there was an individual passenger on the S44 bus who was incorrectly allocated a Severn Card which unfortunately the transport provider does not accept as it is a Herefordshire service. 

"A refund is being processed and going forward the passenger will now have to pay the appropriate fares.”

A Severn Card is a multi-operator student bus pass, valid 24/7 on any bus service included within the scheme, within Worcestershire for students aged under 19, mature students or sponsor colleges.

The parent has said that the passes are still in the hands of the bus company.

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A spokesperson for The Chase said: "We were alerted to this by a parent, however, at present, we have no further information as to why or how this occurred.  

"We have been informed by Worcestershire County that they have opened an investigation into this and they have contacted the parents. 

"The safety and welfare of our students are paramount.  We support the investigation and are keen for measures to be put in place to ensure that this does not happen again."

According to Herefordshire County Council, if you don't qualify for free bus transport, the current full charge for parental contributions for 2021/22 is £837 a year, which can either be paid in advance online by debit or credit card or monthly by direct debit in ten instalments from September to June.