A mum living in a village at the centre of a bus pass fiasco is fighting for free school travel for her daughter.

Helen Thompson says she won't rest until Kent County Council (KCC) reconsiders its position, which she claims has divided Wittersham.

Mrs Thompson, 29, was informed within days of her daughter Molly, 11, starting Homewood School, Tenterden, in September, that due to an "administrative error" KCC would be withdrawing her free bus pass.

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The authority told the mum that she wasn't entitled to the pass because Rye College in East Sussex was Molly's nearest school by 0.2 miles.

She said: "I was in a state of complete and utter shock when I received the letter just a couple of days after Molly had started at Homewood School in September.

"This was after the letter that KCC had sent me in July agreeing to pay for the pass.

"I had just paid out hundreds of pounds for school uniform and a laptop that I purchased through Homewood School that links in with its e-learning programme."

"The letter left me in a state of disbelief and then I thought surely they [KCC] have got it wrong and common sense will prevail."

But Mrs Thompson of The Street, Wittersham, will today be making her appeal to KCC in a bid to overturn the ruling.

She added: "The bus passes have divided the village. People know that some neighbours get free transport while they have to pay.

"We should have the right for our children to go to a school in Kent as we pay our council tax in Kent."

VIDEO: Parent anger over bus pass denial

Keily Potter, 45, has already had her appeal for free school transport turned down. Her son James, 12, attends Homewood, but his bus fare is not paid for in contrast to some neighbours.

The mum who lives at Owen Court, which she describes as being "at the heart of the village" said: "I don't want my son to go to an unfamiliar school in a completely different county. He went to Wittersham Primary and it's part of the Tenterden Rural Alliance linked to Homewood.

"Children at the primary get taster days and visits from Homewood, which is the feeder school for Wittersham.

"It is so silly to divide up the village and separate children who went to the same primary for the sake of 0.2 miles."

She added: "Rye College has an inadequate Ofsted so I don't want to send my son there."

In May 2018 Ofsted issued a damning report on Rye College stating that it requires "significant improvement" and that "urgent action" needed to be taken "to improve pupils' outcomes." In contrast Homewood School is rated good.

Mrs Potter appealed to KCC for free transport and was supported by KCC cabinet member Cllr Mike Hills, who represents Tenterden, but her appeal was refused.

The KCC service from Wittersham to Homewood School is operated by private firm Scotland and Bates on behalf of the authority and a seat on the bus can be purchased from KCC under its vacant place scheme, but it costs £400.

Georgina Bates, proprietor of Scotland of Bates: "Unfortunately we are caught in the middle of this and we can only accept children onto the bus who are on the KCC list, unless a vacant place is paid for."

Alternatively pupils can use a KCC young person's travel pass costing £290 on a public bus, but the only service to arrive before the start of the school day gets to Tenterden at 7.21am, almost an hour and half before classes begin. The 312 service is provided by East Sussex County Council, which sets the timetable, and operated by Stagecoach.

The small village of Wittersham has a population of just 1,112 people recorded at the last census in 2011 and Mrs Potter said: "KCC should give free bus passes to everyone in the village or not at all. There is no logic in what they are doing and it is splitting the village."

A KCC spokesman said that most secondary school pupils go to their nearest appropriate school, which has to be more than three miles from home to qualify for free transport and that its policy has been in place for seven years. Distance to school is measured using roads and walking routes.

Regarding the free bus passes issued in error, the spokesman said: “Transport has been withdrawn because Homewood is not their nearest appropriate school for transport purposes.

“Unfortunately an administrative error was made and once discovered, we wrote to parents and explained that assistance would be withdrawn. We have allowed those affected to make use of the free transport until the end of the first term to give them time to make alternative arrangements.

“KCC has agreed not to withdraw travel assistance where learners have already begun their final stages of GCSEs which is why some pupils may have retained their travel assistance.”