A MOTHER who launched a campaign for all schoolchildren in the county to receive free school transport has received the support of Kent MP Ann Widdecombe.

Karen Martin, of Yalding, near Maidstone, began her campaign earlier this year, calling for a change in the system which allocates bus passes to some children and not others.

Now Miss Widdecombe, the Conservative MP for Maidstone and the Weald, has pledged to do what she can for the cause.

Mrs Martin, who recently submitted a petition signed by the parents of the 28 Yalding children who do not receive free transport, had already been encouraged with news that Kent County Council was looking at reviewing the system.

She also wrote to Education Secretary Charles Clarke four weeks ago to ask for his support, after being encouraged to by KCC. She has yet to receive a reply.

In a letter to Mrs Martin pledging her support, Miss Widdecombe wrote: "I am particularly grateful for the comprehensive summary of events which have led to the present day situation where so many children from the Yalding area are denied assistance with transport to school."

She added: "I have registered my support for your views and am taking up specific points with Graham Badman, director of education at Kent County Council."

Mrs Martin, a mother-of-two, said: "There are so many people backing us. Everybody is on our side and can see what a ridiculous system we are up against, but it is down to money.

"At the end of the day, we are still sceptical that there will be any change, but we will stick with it and keep going."

In Yalding, children who go to the village's designated school, Mascalls in Paddock Wood, chosen by a ballot of parents in the 1990s, receive free transport.

Children attending schools closer to their homes than Mascalls also receive free transport but those living slightly further away do not.