A MALPAS mother-of-two fears for the safety of her children if they are forced to walk to school along isolated country roads after being refused a bus pass.

Tracy Williams has had her application rejected as the 1.58-mile walking route to Bishop Heber High School from her home is under the statutory three-mile walking distance that qualifies children for free public transport.

However, the community safety network officer with Cheshire police, Dave Owens, walked the route with Tracy last week and will submit a letter of recommendation that lone women should avoid quiet, low-lit places, as advised in the Home Office publication Be Safe Be Secure.

Miss Williams had appealed against Cheshire County Council's decision, believing that the routes along Mates Lane and Tilston Road are unsafe for children to walk.

She knows the dangers of the 60mph limited roads all too well as her car was badly damaged in a crash there.

Despite presenting her evidence to an appeals panel with the support of Cheshire county councillor Eveleigh Moore Dutton, Tracy's appeal was rejected.

The council cited information gathered by the county transport co-ordinator, in accordance with the county council's transport policy and the assessment of a principal road safety officer.

This included low traffic counts on both routes and a check with Cheshire Constabulary, which confirmed it had no re-cord of any assault.

Tracy said: 'Just because no incidents have occurred on Mates Lane does not mean that it won't in the future and I am not willing for one of my daughters to be the statistic that changes that fact.'

Cllr Moore Dutton said: 'I share Tracy's concerns about the safety of that route.

'I know no crimes have occurred along it, but I intend to do what I can to have some of the obvious safety issues looked at.'

The routes in question have a 60mph speed limit, a lack of public transport and no street lights.

Tracy said: 'I myself have been hit when travelling along this road. On one occasion my car had to have major repairs, due to a sixth-form pupil coming around the corner on the wrong side of the road. If there had been a pedestrian, God only knows what would have happened.'

Tracy and her partner, Mark Lynch, of Kidnal Bank in Malpas, are full-time students and rely on the school bus to safely transport their two children, aged 12 and 16, to and from school.

The commercial bus, provided by Meredith's, currently picks up pupils in Tilston and Tracy's daughters at the end of Mates Lane. The route is optional as long as the driver picks up all pupils entitled to school transport. As Tracy's children do not qualify, the route could be changed at any time, leaving the girls with no alternative but to walk.