Parents have reacted angrily to news their children's bus fares to schools in Rottingdean and Portslade are to rise by 60 per cent.

Pupils' 50p day return fare has been replaced with a £4 weekly ticket.

Hilary Bath, whose son attends Portslade Community College, said: "My son received a letter on the bus on Friday saying 50p returns would no longer be available before 9am and the children would have to buy a weekly ticket instead costing £4.

"I have no choice but to pay because otherwise my child would have to walk one-and-a-half miles to school and it's just not safe."

Roger French, managing director of the Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, said the changes were being phased in over the next two weeks in areas where the concessions had been in place for the last two years.

Most of those affected attend Longhill School in Rottingdean and Portslade Community College, where pupils will pay the new fare from January 27.

Mr French said: "We introduced a special 50p return fare in certain local areas when we went over to the flat fare system in January 2001.

"Unfortunately we can no longer offer them such a cheap fare at such a peak time.

"In many cases, even though the bus was often full with schoolchildren it was still not covering the costs.

"The £4 fare is effectively 40p there and 40p back, which is still excellent value."