A MIX-UP with a list of pupils eligible for home to school transport in Musselburgh led to “chaos” after children were left “stranded at the side of the road” on Monday morning.

Irate parents vented their feelings via social media, with one saying: “I’m beyond angry this has been allowed to happen.”

The pupils were due to travel from Musselburgh to St David’s RC High School in Dalkeith for their first day of the new school year but, despite having passes, they were not allowed on the bus.

Others were not allowed to travel as they were not on the list and did not have paperwork and passes in place.

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “All pupils who are eligible for home to school transport are issued with a bus pass from our transportation team and the list is passed to the transport provider. Unfortunately, the contractor used an earlier version of the list which led to four pupils who were eligible for transport not being taken to school on Monday morning.

“We have spoken with our contractor to ensure that this situation does not reoccur.

“We have also become aware of a number of young people who do not have travel requests in place. We are encouraging parents and carers to apply through the school so that we can assess their request.

“Safety is our key priority for our home to school transport provision. We are reviewing our practices to ensure this situation is not replicated.

“We have been contacting families directly affected to discuss their experiences with them and apologise for the issues they experienced.”

Following the problems on Monday, a member of the council’s transportation team went to the St David’s pick-up point in Musselburgh on Tuesday morning to ensure all of the pupils were able to board the bus for school.

This time there were no issues.

Via Twitter, one parent branded the mix-up “totally unacceptable”, saying: “My son was one of the children put off the bus after being assured by the council last week that he was on the list. Totally ruined his first day in S1.”

Another said: “Chaos on school buses from Musselburgh to St David’s. Kids with passes not allowed on buses as not on list. Kids in tears.”

While a third parent commented that it “beggars belief” that schoolchildren were left “stranded at the side of the road”, claiming it showed “a complete disregard for the children’s safety, health and wellbeing”.