Teachers are having to stop pupils “stampeding” to try to get on packed buses – as parents fear a child will get hurt in the crush.

Youngsters from Dunkirk, near Faversham, are scrambling to get on board Stagecoach services back to the village from Canterbury Academy.

The issue has been going on for months and families are demanding more buses be provided to get children to and from school.

But defiant Stagecoach bosses say: “There is already enough capacity for everyone.”

Dunkirk resident Paul Barkaway’s 11-year-old daughter Amber attends Canterbury Academy and gets the 3X service home from Rheims Way.

He now resorted to taking the Year 7 pupil to school himself, as the rush to get a spot on the bus left her upset and anxious.

The 40-year-old spoke to KentOnline again this week after previously reporting troubles with Amber’s school journey in September.

He said: “It’s causing stress and a bit of anxiety.

“When she's coming home on the bus, she's thinking: ‘Am I actually going to be able to get back?’

“There is a stampede to get on and someone is going to get hurt.

“You can’t blame the children because they just want to get on and they've got no idea when the next bus will actually be.”

After Mr Barkaway reported the problems to Canterbury Academy, the school has been sending members of staff across Victoria Park to the Rheims Way bus stop to prevent youngsters from pushing and shoving.

The dad added: “They have been kind enough to send somebody down there for the short-term, but they can't be expected to do that all the time.

“It's just not good enough. Stagecoach is getting paid a lot of money to take these children to and from school.”

Dawn Scott-Elvey, whose 13-year-old son Max also attends Canterbury Academy, says more services need to be put on.

The Year 8 pupil has to get the bus to school from Dunkirk at 7.25am because the later buses do not have enough room, his mum says.

Mrs Scott-Elvey, who works in a nursery, said: “He leaves home at 7.10am, which is stupidly early.

“I used to get the bus as a child and it would never be like this.

“Now, it’s just a living nightmare.”

Despite the early starts, there are still occasions when the bus is at full capacity and drives straight past Max, including one time in September when his mum “chased the driver down”.

“I was fuming,” Mrs Scott-Elvey told KentOnline.

“I raced down, picked Max up, got to Harbledown, where it stops, got out of my car, and started banging on the driver's window.

“I had a stand-up row with him.

“It is absolutely shocking the amount of times it goes straight past these poor children in the village. It is terrible.”

Even if Max can get on the bus, it is so busy that his mum still worries about his safety.

“One morning, I followed the bus after dropping my son at the stop, and he was standing right at the front next to the driver because it was so full,” she said.

“My heart was in my mouth as I just had visions of him being scraped off the tarmac after going through the window.”

Bosses at Canterbury Academy say they will continue to send out two members of staff each afternoon to the Rheims Way bus stop to “support our students in making sure they can catch the service”.

A spokesperson added: “For any who are unable to board due to Stagecoach capacity, they will be invited to return to school with staff so arrangements can be made for their safe onward travel.

“In the meantime, as always, we shall continue to work sensitively and supportively with any of our families who experience issues with the services provided by Stagecoach.”

Despite parents’ concerns, Stagecoach says it has already supplied bigger double-deckers, and there is enough space for everybody.

A spokesman said: “We operate three buses at school times between Boughton, Dunkirk and Canterbury.

“Since the start of the school year, we've adjusted our vehicle plan to ensure the largest possible double-deck buses are allocated to these journeys.

“Overall, there is enough capacity on these three buses to carry everyone who needs to travel.”