COLLEGE students have been left stranded miles from home by a bus service which is repeatedly late or does not turn up at all.

Students at Pershore Agricultural College are often left standing at the campus bus stop at the end of lectures, without any idea if the bus is coming or not.

They say it is repeatedly late and on several occasions has not turned up at all.

On occasions, the college’s staff have used the campus minibus to take the students home, or their parents have driven to pick them up.

This is despite parents paying £192 to bus company First every term for a season ticket.

First has now promised to investigate.

Damian Homer, aged 38, whose 16-year-old daughter Sian Homer studies animal welfare and management at the college, said he is sick of First letting his daughter’s learning suffer.

He claims they have done little to sort the problem.

“She’s been at college six weeks and in that time on several occasions the bus had not turned up and so someone at the college has had to take all the kids back to Worcester,” he said.

“I’ve complained, the college has complained and nothing is being done.

“On three occasions it never turned up, and also can run up to an hour late.

When the bus is late, Mr Homer’s daughter misses her connecting bus from Worcester to her home in Tudor Way, Dines Green.

Mr Homer said: “It doesn’t help that their customer service number shuts at 5pm, so it’s too late to phone them and ask if the bus is coming or not.

“I don’t want my daughter stranded when I am paying £192 a term for a seat on the bus that doesn’t turn up.”

A spokesman for the college, part of Warwickshire College, said they were “very unhappy” with the bus service.

“The safety of our students is paramount and not knowing whether they will get back home again each day causes them a lot of unnecessary worry.

“Staff have stepped into the breach taking pupils home.

”On one occasion they drove a 55-mile round trip to get the students home safely.”

She said the issue was “unacceptable” and would “persist” until First solved the problem.

Aidy Culpin, First’s head of marketing, said: “We have received some complaints, including one from Mr Homer, about the number 550 service.

“We are going to launch a full investigation, meet with the college to try and relieve their issues, and send a response to Mr Homer personally.”