SCHOOLBOYS as young as 12 were left stranded with no sign of a school bus more than an hour after it was due.

The Poole Grammar School pupils were left waiting along the route of the 415 on Friday morning when the Damory Coaches service failed to turn up.

One angry parent said his son was stuck for almost an hour before another parent was able to give him a lift.

Other children missed most of the morning’s lessons.

The route runs from County Gates to the grammar school via Parkstone, Oakdale and Canford Heath .

John McVey, Passenger transport and accessibility manager at the Borough of Poole, said: “Once we were made aware of a problem with the 415 service to Poole Grammar School on Friday, we contacted Damory Coaches asking them to investigate.

“We take any issues with school buses very seriously and where appropriate, will take action under the terms of the contract.”

A spokesman for Damory said apologised for the problem and claimed that the bus was “delayed for 20 minutes due to an operational issue”.

“We have ensured that the problem cannot reoccurs for this service,” he said.

Damory was heavily criticised at the beginning of the previous school year for its provision in the Dorset County Council area.

The council was besieged with complaints about students left waiting for late or non-existent buses on a number of occasions this school year.