A VILLAGE fighting for a better bus service has won the first skirmish but is now preparing for a second and bigger battle.

Seaton residents were concerned that the Stagecoach service bus used at school times was too small.

Children were being forced to stand and, on at least one occasion, they were left standing because there was no room for them.

Stagecoach said it it had not been aware of the problem until the Times & Star had contacted it and was now using a bigger bus as a result.

Parish councillor Aileen Brown said the larger bus was a huge improvement and there were no reports of overcrowding.

She disagreed that Stagecoach had not been made aware of the problem, however, saying that she knew of at least four complaints that had been lodged.

She said she was delighted that Stagecoach was sending a larger bus but felt that the village deserved a dedicated school bus.

"We have 32 children using the bus at school times. It is a service bus so does not cater just to them.

"Many of them go to the sixth form centre at Stainburn. That means they have to walk up the long hill, no matter what the weather."

She said Seaton children miss out on a bus by a matter of feet.

"The cut-off point is three miles. Depending on where you measure it, Seaton is 2.8 or 2.9 miles away."

She said the number of children using the service bus might make it economical for a school bus.

"We will contact the county council and see what response we get. We are glad Stagecoach has put on the larger bus - and we hope it remains in the meantime," she said.