FED-UP parents, pupils and community councillors are set to take on North Ayrshire Council in a bid to have an axed school bus reinstated.

Last week the Times revealed that 40 schoolkids were left stranded in subzero temperatures waiting for the replacement Stagecoach bus service, making them late for school.

We can further reveal that the following day the driver of the 30A left pupils stranded a second time, this time after driving passed the stop completely.

Back in June council bosses planned to scrap the Lawthorn to Greenwood free bus meaning kids as young as 11 would be expected to walk almost three miles on their own, to school - or pay more than £40 per month for the bus.

The free council bus was axed on December 22 - the last day of school before Christmas.

Monday of last week was the first day of the new Stagecoach bus operating but just one week in, it has been having major teething problems.

Now fed-up parents and pupils have joined forces with Irvine Community Council to go head-to-head with the Council to plead with them to put the vital bus service back on.

Amanda McFarlane, secretary of Irvine Community Council said: “We are very happy to be supporting the Lawthorn and Perceton Parent Group on this issue. They feel like no one at North Ayrshire Council has listened to their concerns. they were just determined to cancel that bus service to save themselves money, but they seem to have money for all sorts of other things.

“We have invited all the relevant people from the council to Friday’s meeting and we hope they will have the decency to turn up and hear what these concerned parents and pupils have to say.

“The ultimate goal we have is to have the bus reinstated and we plan to fight until that happens.”

A spokesman for North Ayrshire Council declined to comment.

Stagecoach West Scotland said: “Unfortunately due to prior commitments we are unable to send a representative along to the meeting on Friday night, however we have responded in full to the points raised concerning this service.

“We apologise for the problems experienced by customers using the service last week. We acted quickly to rectify these problems and now have a dedicated driver on the route and are continually monitoring the service.”