A COACH company which pulled out of a school run has revealed its drivers were terrorised by pupils.

J&C Coaches of Newton Aycliffe pulled out of the route between Aycliffe Village and Woodham Comprehensive School in Newton Aycliffe at the end of last term.

Parents have since complained that only one of the replacement buses on the route has seatbelts.

But one of the owners of the coach firm has said his company pulled out of the contract because of the unruly behaviour of some pupils from the school.

Neville Jones said: "It is a joke that parents are complaining about their children not having seatbelts but when we did the run they never wore them.

"They caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage and verbally and physically assaulted our drivers.

"The final straw was when I was faced with a bill for thousands of pounds to re-cover all the seats and I know they would just be damaged again."

Mr Jones said his company decided to stop the school run because his coaches are often used by the general public and were starting to look unacceptable, although he still covers two other schools in County Durham.

He said staff at the school and Durham County Council had tried to find solutions to the pupils' behaviour but nothing had worked.

He said: "I do not have a problem with the school or the council, only with the children and their parents who are now complaining about an unsafe bus when it was them who made my vehicles unsafe."

A spokesman for Durham County Council confirmed that it had worked with the school and the bus company to try to solve the pupils' behaviour.

He said: "While the behaviour of the vast majority of pupils is good, the conduct of a small percentage gives cause for concern.

"Sadly the provision of seatbelts for pupils on school transport does not always lead to them being used.

"We appeal to all parents to emphasise to their children the importance of using seatbelts where they are provided and indeed the importance of good behaviour on school transport.