NORTH Yorkshire residents campaigning for better transport provision for rural schools have welcomed Government moves to provide better access to free travel.

Schoolchildren at Wombleton, near Helmsley, face a long and dangerous walk to Ryedale School, at Nawton, along the busy A170, or across muddy, isolated fields, because they do not qualify for free school transport.

North Yorkshire Police have agreed that the routes are not safe, and the parish council and local parents are currently negotiating with the county council to resolve the problem.

Parish chairman Pat Lane said they would be delighted by any Government proposals to reassess how children qualify for free transport, instead of facing hazardous journeys on foot or relying on parents for the school run.

"If there's any new legislation, anything at all that will bring common sense to bear then three cheers," he said.

"We are talking about basic road safety."

Under current rules, children aged less than eight, who live within two miles of school are not automatically entitled to travel on the bus with their friends.

For those aged more than eight, the tough criteria handed to local education authorities - which pay for travel - applies to any child living within three miles of their school.

Now the Rural Affairs Select Committee is calling for a change in the outdated rule, which was introduced in 1944.

The Government has ordered a review, and MPs are pressing for Ministers to introduce more flexible criteria.

This would take into account the circumstances in each area, rather than just having a cut-off point.

In a report on rural education, the committee said transport was "critical" to the success of education in rural areas. MPs said the rules on transport were now "out of date" and "did not reflect current realities".

The committee said: "It is often unsafe for children to walk two or three miles to school, even if accompanied, mainly because of far heavier traffic than could have been imagined when the legislation was introduced."

The report, which painted an upbeat picture of the Government's commitment to rural education, concluded: "We urge the Government to overhaul radically the current arrangements.

"A new system should be based on an assessment of safety issues."

Updated: 10:14 Tuesday, June 17, 2003