A travel company has denied allegations children are travelling on "overcrowded" school buses.

Dad Lucas Smith, of Iwade, voiced fears about the safety of his 12-year-old daughter and other youngsters using Travelmasters services.

He said: “Every day since September my daughter has been unable to get a seat on the bus.

"Some days there are more than 100 children on board.

"Heaven knows what would happen if there is a crash or a pedestrian steps out in front and the driver has to brake suddenly."

The 41-year-old says his daughter catches the 371G which takes pupils from Iwade to the Sittingbourne School.

Although they live in the village he says by the time the bus reaches their stop it is already full.

But Tim Lambkin who runs Sheppey-based Travelmasters, strongly denied the claims, saying: “This is not the case. All our ticket sales are monitored by electronic machines direct to the office so we know how many pupils are travelling.

“We are also confused by Mr Lucas’ comments as the service starts in Iwade and collects students through the Kemsley and Sittingbourne on the way to school.

Our CCTV cameras show we collect around 50 students from Iwade before going on to Kemsley so there is plenty of capacity.

“At the school our bus has an average of 110 passengers. It is true to say there are more than 100 but it has three axles at the back and is licensed to carry 118.

"Our records show it never exceeds this capacity.

“Parents should voice their concerns to either us or the school. It is not always the case that an 80-seater coach is used on the school run.

"We were recently checked by the Department of Transport at the school and and everything was in order.

"The school is aware these vehicles are larger capacity and was surprised a parent had made this accusation.”

He added: “We take safety seriously. This is why we bought four of these high capacity vehicles in the summer at £140,000 each ready for the new school term.”

He said the firm also puts on extra buses at the start of term. The fleet carries 1,600 pupils a day.

Read more: All the latest news from Sittingbourne

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