CONTROVERSIAL changes to school transport for children with disabilities will go ahead, Council bosses have decided.

The decision was made despite worried parents urging Bradford Council's Executive to reconsider the move.

Currently, around 4,300 children - many of whom have disabilities or special needs - are given free transport to and from special or mainstream schools.

But the Council wants to cut down its annual £13.1 million school transport bill, which includes £4m spent each year on taxis.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, the executive member for schools on the Labour-led Council, said: "We cannot sustain this level of funding if we are to continue to support our young, vulnerable children to get to school in future."

Under the plans, some of the children will be given special training so they can use public transport, and others will be expected to share taxis or travel in minibuses where possible.

Ilkley mum Sally Skipper spoke on behalf of a group of parents who went to the meeting on Tuesday to protest.

Miss Skipper, whose 11-year-old son Rory has autism, said the consultation process had been badly managed, and she feared the vast majority of affected parents wouldn't know about the changes.

She said very few of the children would be able to learn how to use public transport on their own.

"Many of these children have challenging behaviour, many of these children have life-limiting illnesses and many of these children have complex needs," she added.

Miss Skipper said she feared she could lose her job if she had to take her child to a central drop-off point each morning.

Council officers said while the changes would start this September, they would be phased in, with each affected family given an individual assessment to decide what was right for the child.