A dirt track designated as a walking route for school children whose bus service was cut will undergo a six-week safety inspection after an appeal by a group of parents.

Oxfordshire County Council announced earlier this year it would stop providing a free bus service from the village of Childrey to King Alfred’s School in Wantage from the summer term.

The council instead designated a bridleway for pupils to walk to school which it said met national guidelines for a safe walking route.

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Parents described the route as a ‘pothole ridden dirt track’ and appealed against the decision.

Oxford Mail: A view of the bridleway from Childrey to King Alfred's in the winter

Following a hearing process, members of the council’s independent panel will now carry out an inspection of the walking route over the next six weeks before they make a final decision.

Some parents are hopeful for the inspection.

As it will take place in term time, they said it would accurately represent the congestion of the roads their children will be forced to cross on the nearly three-mile route.

The previous two inspections took place either out-of-term or on days of school strikes.

Sarah Chambers, who has a 13-year-old son at King Alfred’s, said: “It will give them a more accurate impression of what traffic conditions will be like.”

However, other parents believe that carrying out the inspection in the summer will not reflect what the route is like in the winter.

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Natasha Beames, whose 13-year-old daughter Annie is a pupil, said: “I’m a little bit annoyed they will be doing the inspection on a bright, sunny day and not a winter day when the children will be walking along that road.

“On a summers day it could be classed as a beautiful walk but during the winter children will be leaving and coming back in darkness. They are going to need Hi Vis jackets, torches, and waterproof boots.

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“It’s not safe. You’re asking children to walk through fields. You’re asking them in the winter to be in complete darkness when they are not going to be seen. There’s no streetlights and it’s foggy and horrible.”

Councillor Paul Barrow, who represents Childrey on Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “They carried out an inspection last year when they road was dry and walkable and if it’s in June, I’m concerned the same thing is going to happen again.

“They should look to do a review in mid-winter. No parent wants their 11-year-old boy or girl to be walking along these roads at 4 or 5 o’clock as it starts to get dark.”

A spokesman from the county council said: “The distance from Childrey to King Alfred’s School is less than the statutory three miles required for us to provide school transport.

“We have previously provided a bus for them, but this situation was always subject to review day when the children will be walking along that road.”