PARENTS are celebrating after a bus company bowed to pressure for an improved service after students were arriving at school or home late and some passengers broke smoking rules.

Stagecoach buses were turning up late to get about 100 students to and from Tavistock and places in between, to Devonport High School for Boys in Plymouth.

They also called for a crackdown on the alleged vaping and smoking of cannabis among some other passengers on the same X1 service.

Parents signed a joint letter to Stagecoach which asked for a ‘commitment and communication regarding how the company will ensure that our children are not left stranded going forward ‘.

They added: ‘We also want to know what will be done to curb the inappropriate and illegal activity of vaping and smoking of cannabis on the bus by some other passengers.’

Ursula Mann, of Tavistock, who has a son at the school, said: ‘We are asking that the bus which leaves Paradise Road in Plymouth everyday is both safe and reliable for our children. ‘If we hadn’t got a reply within seven days we were going to report the company to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency for having regularly scheduled bus services departing late, or not turning up at all.’

Stagecoach has responded by writing to the parents, saying the service was now under review ‘due to the level of complaints’. The company added: ‘The local team are working hard to resolve the issue around this service to ensure school children are able to travel to and from school. We understand your concern around this and the team will pass your email to add to the number of complaints around this service.’

The parents pay £200 per term for the school bus passes. Mrs Mann said: ‘I’m really glad to see our concerns as parents has been taken seriously. The missed services and late arrivals home have been a major concern. There’s already been an improvement.’