School buses have been cancelled because drivers have been caught up in the backlog of vetting checks on people working with children.

Parents in four Cheshire secondary schools have had to make alternative arrangements, as buses were cancelled pending the completion of checks on drivers.

The Criminal Records Bureau has been working around the clock in an attempt to tackle a backlog of thousands of school staff who need to be vetted before taking up new posts this term.

This has affected many teachers about to begin work this week - with 8,600 background checks still outstanding on Monday.

And now the delays are affecting school transport.

Cheshire County Council has been contacting parents to warn them of the transport problems in four schools starting on Tuesday.

Warning parents

As with many authorities, the large majority of the schools in Cheshire will be returning for the autumn term on Wednesday.

The 10 drivers whose vetting clearances are being delayed are from contractors used by the authority.

"All drivers transporting children on behalf of this authority are vetted but apparently our contractors are awaiting clearance on a number of their drivers," said schools' manager Joan Feenan.

"Consequently, it may well be that some scheduled school transport does not arrive in the morning.

"We would ask that all parents, wherever possible, either take their children to school or accompany them to the bus stop."