A group of parents have claimed their children's lives will be put at risk if a school cancels a private bus service.

Governors at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School in Rottingdean, near Brighton, announced they could no longer afford to run two private buses to pick up and drop off children in Woodingdean and Peacehaven last week.

Parents who rely on the services said it was not safe to let their children use public transport because buses did not stop outside the school building.

They said the only alternative would be to clog the roads with extra cars and drive their children to and from school.

Simon and Corinne Hennessey, of The Sheepfold, Peacehaven, have two daughters, Charlotte, 11, and Deanna-May, seven, who attend the school in The Green and regularly take the bus.

Mr Hennessey said: "The number 40 bus from Peacehaven would drop them outside the White Horse pub and then they would have to cross a very busy road. That's not on, not for primary age children.

"We understand it's an expensive thing for the school to run but they didn't even bother to consult with us on whether we would be prepared to pay more."

Governor Dee Simson said the school had no choice but to cut the service because not enough children used the bus.

She said the school paid £186 a day for the two buses and needed almost all the 60 seats in each bus full to break even.

Parents pay £7.50 a week for the service and currently about 45 pupils use the Peacehaven service and about 35 take the Woodingdean bus.

Mrs Simson said: "The governors are as devastated as the parents at having to make this decision. We have struggled for years to pay off the shortfall for the bus service but numbers have dropped even lower after we put fares up in September and we can't afford to keep paying for it."

She said some Catholic children were entitled to free bus passes from Brighton and Hove City Council.

The governors are meeting today to decide whether to axe the service at the end of term or continue until February.