ANGRY parents are vowing to drive their children to school from September when a council starts charging for transport.

Following Monmouthshire council cabinet's decision on Wednesday to introduce fees of £200 for pupils aged over 16, parents say the buses will run empty.

"The town centres will become congested as more parents drive their children to school," said Penny Woodman, of Penallt, Monmouth.

"My council tax has just gone up £500 a year through rebanding and I can't afford another £200 a year for school transport.

"Many parents have said they will use their cars rather than pay the fees. We will get together and try and lift-share.

"The size of the sixth form in Monmouth Comprehensive School has to remain large so a broad spectrum of subjects can remain on the curriculum."

Annette Baker, a parent governor in Monmouth, said the end of free transport was causing the school a huge amount of anxiety.

"I am worried that sixth formers will go elsewhere," she said. "We are on the border with England, which is funded differently. We may lose pupils to other schools and colleges.

"If more parents drive their children to school the congestion problem we are trying to tackle now will only get worse."

A spokesman for Coleg Gwent said learners attending Usk or Abergavenny campuses from outside the Monmouthshire area would receive free transport, whereas students living within the county would be charged.

A parent who did not wish to be named, living in Pandy near Abergavenny, and whose children attend King Henry VIII Comprehensive School, said it would mean an extra £400 a year out of their already stretched family income.

Another parent who did not want to be named, from Raglan, said people were already penalised financially from living in the countryside. Council taxes were higher but people were poorly served when it came to street lighting and pavements.

Parents Rohan and Richard Lewis, of Llanfoist, Abergavenny, whose third daughter attends King Henry VIII Comprehensive School, thought the move may encourage more pupils to walk or cycle to school.

As chairman of Abergavenny Cycle Group, Mr Lewis said he saw this as an opportunity for more post-16 students to cycle to school which was good for their health and independence and good for the environment.