CCTV cameras have been fitted on Stroud's school buses as part of a clampdown on unruly behaviour.

Gloucestershire County Council is piloting the scheme on Ebley Coaches serving Stroud High, Marling and Archway schools following a worrying increase in complaints about bad behaviour.

It is hoped the cameras will help identify ringleaders behind the rise in dangerous behaviour, which council officials fear could lead to road accidents.

Bus driver Keith Lemon, of Ebley Coaches, who has worked on school routes for 25 years, said: "Over the last few years the behaviour of young people has become much worse - drivers need to be looking where they are going, not trying to discipline children.

"CCTV will help us identify children who are behaving badly and then we can take appropriate action."

Four buses have already been fitted with cameras and a further six across the county are set to be equipped later this month, which will cost the council £27,000.

Andrew Burford, home-to-school transport co-ordinator at GCC, said: "The majority of routes in the county are free from behavioural issues but there are pockets of trouble on some routes and we are hoping CCTV will discourage bad behaviour."

In June, the SNJ reported how concerned parents were calling for measures to be taken to curb bad behaviour on buses.

Parent Katie Jarvis, whose daughter travels by bus to Stroud High School, said CCTV wasn't good enough. "We're not talking about extremes of behaviour, we're talking about a lot of children being silly and it's that sort of behaviour that can cause a crash.

"I'm concerned that this is just a small sticking plaster on a very broken arm because these cameras are only on a few buses."

She said problems were caused because not all passengers could be seated. "We need dedicated school buses with seat belts for every child," she said.