CHILDREN as young as four are walking more than a mile to their new school because a council decided against a free bus service.

Angry parents in Argoed are having to walk their children to Markham Primary since the village school closed at Christmas.

32 children transferred from Argoed to Markham Primary School, but only two have been given free transport and here is no public service that will get them there on time.

Debbie Wilkins, 36, lives on Penylan Road in Argoed, just over a mile from Markham and has to walk her four-year-old son Liam to and from school.

She said: "I don't drive and can't get a lift with anyone else.

"The buses don't get you there until after school starts, so I have to walk.

"It's a long way to walk for someone as young as Liam."

Rebecca Williams, a former Argoed governor and campaigner, walks to the school with her six-year-old daughter Megan Parker-Williams.

She said: "It's a very open stretch of road - you are fighting against the weather."

Parents fought the closure of Argoed Primary for two years, but Caerphilly council said the school had too many surplus places and was no longer viable.

The school closed at Christmas.

Argoed councillor Allen Williams said he fought for free transport for all the pupils, but Caerphilly council decided against it.

Last November the authority considered a report to determine eligibility for transport from Argoed to Markham, but only pupils who lived in certain "risk areas" were eligible or if they lived more than a mile-and-a-half from their school.

If pupils lived in an 'acceptable risk' area, with clear pavements, safe crossing points and other factors, they would not be eligible for transport.