Council denies ‘hitch to school’ advice

Aberdeenshire Council has rejected the suggestion that it told an
eight-year-old pupil she should hitch hike to school because she is
not entitled to free transport.

Mother Michelle Pennells says the council suggested her daughter
Heidi got a lift from passing parents by flagging them down from
the side of the road.

A council spokesperson said it was investigating the allegations to
find out if anyone told Pennells to follow this course of
action.

He said Heidi was not entitled to use the school bus for free
because according to their records she lived within a two-mile
radius of Crudie primary school in Turriff, Scotland.

Pennells argues that the family’s home is 2.1 miles away and Heidi
is therefore entitled to get free travel.

The spokesperson said that the council would be re-examining the
distance between home and school. He added that it was obviously
not council policy to tell children to hitch lifts and that Heidi
could use the public bus service.