Powys County Council says children who are not entitled to travel on school transport but do so anyway will not be allowed to travel home.

The warning comes as the county council apologised for delays in issuing bus passes to students for the new term.

Over 5,500 passes have now been issued ahead of schools returning last week, but the council's passenger transport unit says it is still working through a number of applications - and pupils who have not received bus passes will need a letter of authority from the school to travel on buses until the backlog is cleared.

"We just want to apologise for the delay in processing some school transport applications," said a statement issued via social media last night.

"This year we have sent out around 5,500 new passes but we are aware that there are a number left to deal with. We are also aware that some parents have been waiting to hear back from us on queries they have raised and we really appreciate how frustrating it is. Our small but committed team are working as fast as they can to get through the back log and we are prioritising those learners who should have received a bus pass but for one reason or another they have not yet received it."

County Times: Powys County Hall, Llandrindod Wells. Picture: Mike Sheridan/County TimesPowys County Hall, Llandrindod Wells. Picture: Mike Sheridan/County Times

The council says phones are "ringing off the hook" due to the problem, but that it expects all outstanding applications to have been cleared by next Friday, September 17.

However the council also issued a warning to parents that if they send children into school who are not entitled to free school transport, they will be expected to collect them as they will not be allowed to return on the bus.

"With regard to children without bus passes, we want to reassure parents and your children that if they haven’t received their bus pass yet, that they can travel on our buses in the morning even if they don’t have a pass, but they MUST go to the school office so that the school can check if they are entitled to be on the school bus and if so, they can issue them with a letter of authority to travel on the school bus.," the statement added.

"However, if you know your child/ren are not entitled to be on the school bus and you still send your child to catch the bus, they will be taken to school, but they will not be allowed to travel home in the afternoon and the parent will be expected to make arrangements to collect their child/ren."