Frustrated parents have slammed Southampton City Council after a school bus service was suddenly axed "without warning".

A group of pupils at Springwell Primary School in Thornhill were expecting their usual school bus to arrive outside their homes on Friday, May 16 – but panic set in when the bus never turned up.

In turn, families were left in the lurch with many parents turning up late for work after needing to drop their children to the school gates themselves.

It transpired that the council had axed the bus service – leaving parents furious.

One angry parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The council have cancelled the contract for one of their school transport services despite the fact that buses have never been late or cancelled.

“Neither the school nor school have disclosed any information or appropriately updated us.

“As a result, our child is now having to travel to and from school at expense to ourselves with impacts to our working schedules to get this sorted.

“We know that some pupils missed out on two full days of learning – on Friday and the following Monday due to the sudden axing of the service.

“Its absolutely ridiculous that we didn’t get a text or email.

“Springwell is a fantastic school but I can’t believe the council would let us down like this.”

READ MORE: Olympic quality diving academy in Southampton faces closure

Despite parents claiming that they were not appropriately contacted, the council has said it notified parents on Thursday – a day before slashing the service.

A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: "Following a review of our school travel service contract with one of our suppliers, we contacted parents and carers on Thursday, May 15, to notify them of changes to their travel arrangements

 “We are committed to resolving the situation as quickly as possible, and we are working with other suppliers to put measures in place to minimise the impact.

 “Parents and carers who are making their own travel arrangements can apply for reimbursement; details can be found on the council’s website.

“We apologise if this had not been made clear to parents and carers.

“We are reviewing our methods of communication with parents and carers to ensure they are kept fully informed of travel support changes.”