A SCHOOLBOY was stopped from boarding a bus to school on the second occasion in two months.

Conor Dear, 14, from Charlton Marshall, was prevented from getting on Wilts and Dorset's X8 service from Poole to Blandford last Friday despite having the right money.

The student had the exact money for a return journey between his home and the Blandford Upper School following a fare increase in April.

His mum, Elaine Dear, said: "The driver told him the fare was £2.60.

"But it had only just gone up in April from £1.80 to £2."

A spokesman for Wilts and Dorset confirmed the driver had made a mistake and apologised for the inconvenience caused to the mother-of-four, who drove her son to school.

It is the second time Conor has had to fall back on a lift from his parents since April after a driver refused to change a £5 note given to Conor for bus fare and a school meal.

The busy mother added that her son had been fortunate in getting a lift to school from his parents on both occasions.

"If this was the only way my son could have got to school then we, as parents, would be investigated for not ensuring his attendance," said Mrs Dear.

The family is in dispute with Dorset County Council over their son's failure to qualify for a free school bus pass.

Education chiefs say the Charlton Marshall schoolboy lives less than three miles from the school.

"When I drive from the school it's 3.2 miles.

"When the council measure the most direct route across fields, its 2.6 miles.

"Children living 50 steps away in the next road down qualify for the pass," said Mrs Dear.

A spokesman for the council said distance and factors including receipt of tax credits were considered when calculating entitlement to free bus passes.