HER teenage son has to hitch-hike to see his friends and she is paying £600 a year to put her daughter on the school bus.

And today, Chalford mother Jane Harris joins the SNJ's campaign to Save Our Buses.

The mother-of-two has spoken out about how the lack of public transport in Chalford Hill is isolating young people.

"Cirencester kids stay in Cirencester and Stroud kids stay in Stroud," she said. "It narrows the possibilities for kids from different places to get together.

"I have just got used to being the driver. If I go out I have to take my mobile. You organise your life around it."

She has become used to juggling her own work and social life with that of her daughter, Rosa Harris Edmonds, who plays in the school orchestra at Deer Park School in Cirencester and attends a youth drama group at The Space in Lansdown, Stroud, every Wednesday.

She wanted to send Rosa to the same school as her brother Josh, 17, but as the family live just outside the catchment area, she has had to pay £600 a year for each child to use the school bus.

"Most of my friends live in Stroud or Cirencester but there's not a bus there so mum's got to take me," said Rosa, 12.

Hitch-hiking has become a way of life for older teenagers in Chalford Hill, including Josh.

"When you go past Cirencester College there are always 17 or 18 year olds hitching," said Mrs Harris. "College is not a nine to four thing, like school.

"There's no way that I am going to let my 12-year-old daughter hitch-hike but she always says she really wishes there was a regular bus service.

"At that age, it's nice to be independent. But as Rosa gets older she'll always be dependent on me to pick her up."

Gloucestershire County Council, which is responsible for the bus routes, maintains there is not enough demand for a more regular service between Chalford and Cirencester.

It recently withdrew the daily 22b service between Chalford Vale and Cirencester, which now runs only on Fridays.