A furious dad blasted a bus company's timetable after his little girl's new school hours left her trudging more than a mile and waiting alone.

Terry Downs says changes at daughter Ruby’s Barton Manor School, Canterbury, means she is forced to miss the end-of-day bus home by just 10 minutes.

With the 12-year-old’s journeys back to Chestfield, near Whitstable, last year running well, fresh government legislation has seen her Spring Lane secondary extend its day by five minutes in the morning and ten in the afternoon.

Starting this September, all mainstream, state-funded schools in England must deliver a 32.5-hour minimum core school week.

Mr Downs says now Ruby misses the number five service from outside the school she must walk to the city centre and wait 45 minutes to catch it there.

He wants Stagecoach to make its last school stop when classes kick out at 3.20pm, rather than 3.10pm, as usual.

Describing his frustration to KentOnline, he said: “There were no school placements for my daughter in Whitstable or Herne Bay, so we've ended up in a school in Canterbury which is nearly eight miles from our house.

“So, she has to get a bus, which was fine until this year, but now they've extended the school day.

“She's fine in the morning - it actually gets her there 30 minutes early - but at the end of the day, she’s completely missing it.

“She has to wait 45 minutes at the bus station down in Canterbury, and she's on her own.”

Stagecoach has adapted its other services for Barton Manor, but the 47-year-old says his daughter is the only student from Whitstable who attends the school, so the number five has not been changed.

He recognises students at nearby Barton Court Grammar School would need to wait for an extra ten minutes if the service is switched up, but believes this is a sacrifice that needs to be made.

The construction manager added: “I’m angry.

“She's the only one who walks to the bus station, the only one who stands there every day.

“My wife and I can't pick her up because we both work - it's impossible.

“She doesn't want to come to school because of it.

“She's been crying every morning saying she doesn't want to go, but we can't do anything about it.

“We're having to try and take her home for the time being, but we can't substantiate that.

“It's just not on. She feels isolated.

“It's not good for a young girl, especially with the winter nights coming.

“The other day it was pouring with rain, she was there for 40 minutes in it.”

Mr Downs also believes Barton Manor should be doing more to push Stagecoach into changing the timetable.

The school says it went through a consultation process involving Stagecoach, parents and students prior to changing its finishing time.

Headteacher Richard Morgan said: “Since the start of the new academic year, the school has been in contact with Stagecoach a number of times to advocate for parents who have raised concerns about their child's bus timetable challenges.

“The School has worked with parents to offer solutions.

“These include catching the number 23 from outside the school into the town centre bus station and catching the number five bus from there into Whitstable.

“The school offers a supervised homework club every evening until 4pm and many extra-curricular activities which students can engage with before catching the number five bus to Whitstable.”

A spokesperson for Stagecoach added: "We have been in discussions with the local authority regarding long-term planning for the growth of Barton Manor School.

"Pupil numbers are expected to increase each year until full capacity is reached in 2027, which is why we successfully lobbied to retain the extended bus stop clearway outside the school on Spring Lane - reserving its use for additional school-time buses as the school expands."

"This year we're providing two bus routes from the school at home time linking to Whitstable and Herne Bay.

“We weren't aware there would be any demand for additional links from the school this year, but we will look at making adjustments where this is possible without impacting other school-time service commitments.

"Pupils who need to can access the city centre bus station on route 23 which runs every 20 minutes at school times from the bus stop on Spring Lane outside the school."