Young people holding a Kent County Council Young Person's Travel Pass (YPTP) will soon be able to travel at certain times for free.

An agreement between the authority and bus operator Arriva will mean that youngsters in years 7 to 11 travelling with the pass in the evening, during holidays, and at weekends will ride free of charge from Sunday, May 6.

The new scheme will apply to the company's entire network in the county which includes Maidstone, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, The Weald, Medway, Dartford, Gravesend, Sittingbourne and other surrounding points in West and North Kent.

KCC cabinet member for transport Mike Whiting said: "This is great news for children who have our travel pass as it means they’ll be able to get out independently during the summer holidays and at the weekends.

"It is good to see the hard work between our officers and Arriva has allowed this to happen and give new travel opportunities to youngsters.

"I believe the travel pass remains one of the most generous schemes outside of London and represents a huge saving over paying the fare direct to the operator. This new benefit has made it even better."

KCC provides £8.5 million to the scheme each year and the new extended benefits have been introduced at no additional cost to the council.

The Young Person’s Travel Pass is an voluntary scheme for the council as it receives no funding from central government.

It is currently used by about 24,000 youngsters across the county.

Stagecoach, which operates bus services predominately in the east of the county, already allows YPTP users access to its buses in the evenings, weekends, and holidays.