DAMNING criticism of a school bus service run by a Northwich firm has led to calls for a national review of safety standards.

MPs on the House of Commons Transport Select Committee have called for the Government to take action after being told about an inspection which ordered that nine-out-of-10 school buses run by Ravel Travel and Local Motion be taken off the road.

Inspectors found that all but one of the buses operated by the two companies, run by Rudheath man David Beards-more, were so dangerous they had to be taken off the road immediately.

The inspections were carried out at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School last October but were revealed in a report to the Select Committee by Garth Goddard, head of school transport for Cheshire County Council.

Mr Goddard told MPs that the county was forced to order 'quite ancient' buses because it could not afford modern vehicles. He said some of the older vehicles were not fitted with seatbelts and the risk of fire was higher than in Cheshire's small fleet of four American-style yellow buses.

He added: 'We work very closely with the Vehicle Inspectorate on spot-checks. We had a situation where, together with the Vehicle Inspectorate and the police, my inspectors descended on a school in Cheshire.

'They inspected 10 contract vehicles provided by one company and nine of them were excluded from further operations immediately for safety reasons.

'There are some operators, not necessarily the big operators, on the fringe of the operation that supposedly meet the required standards but, on inspection, they are found to be wanting, and I think that can be a worrying situation.'

Referring directly to Mr Goddard's evidence, the MPs concluded in their report: 'The current system produces some school buses which are demonstrably dangerous. This should not be allowed. It is unacceptable for school-children to be forced to use the oldest buses on the road.'

Cheshire County Council immediately cancelled all contracts with the two firms as a result of the inspection and have moved to reassure parents that school transport in the area is safe.

A spokesman for Cheshire County Council said: 'We withdrew immediately all our contracts with the companies. This is the worst case of its kind but we are very confident that the great majority of school buses are safe and we still maintain that going to school by bus is the best way of getting there.'

But Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, the chairman of the Select Committee, said: 'School transport is in crisis. The school run causes massive congestion and local authorities are spending a great deal of money to provide a service which is frequently in crisis.'

Mr Beardsmore, the transport manager of Ravel Travel and Local Motion, said his buses that are still in operation in the area fully meet stringent safety standards, and added that a lot of the problems previously suffered were caused by vandalism.

He said: 'We are very confident that the buses that are still in operation fully meet the safety standards.

'Vandalism is part of the problem - we had an incident over the Easter Bank Holiday where between £10,000 and £15,000 worth of damage was caused when the yard was broken into and 11 buses were vandalised.'