A PETITION signed by children as young as five was handed to a politician.

More than 200 signatures in two days were added to the bus-shaped petition posters, created by children at Broomgrove Infant School, Wivenhoe.

They were handed to Bernard Jenkin, Convervative parliamentary candidate for Harwich and North Essex.

The petition asked for primary school children to be able to still get free transport when they transfer to Colne Community School, in Brightlingsea.

Essex County Council has decided some Year 7 pupils from Wivenhoe choosing to go to the school will have to pay for buses from September.

The cost of the service would be more than £600 per pupil.

The county council policy means from September, children starting at secondary school will only get free transport to their nearest school, instead of to any in their catchment area.

Some pupils in Wivenhoe qualify for free transport to the Colne and others to Colchester Academy.

But some parents, who want their children to go to Colne, are frustrated at having to pay, while their neighbours’ children go free.

Petition signatures were collected by Wivenhoe parent Andrea Luxford- Vaughan and presented to Mr Jenkin.

He said: "I have been unhappy about this policy since it was introduced a year ago. We thought the county council was going to change it, but it won't and we have tried to find a solution.

“Seventy children a year from Wivenhoe start at Colne and a significant number would have to pay £600 a year for school transport. It is not acceptable. I am calling on the council to delay implementation and review it.”

A county council spokesman said: “The transport policy for children newly starting secondary school from September 2015 is to provide free transport to the nearest school if this is three miles or more from their home. This is in accordance with statutory responsibilities.

“There are also extended rights for low income families and any entitlement for existing secondary school pupils will continue.

“All of the admissions information published in the autumn of 2014 made the new policy position clear and advised parents to carefully consider the transport policy before making applications.”

! Other candidates standing for the Harwich and North Essex seat in the general election are Dominic Graham (Lib Dem), Edward Carlsson Browne (Labour), Mark Hughes (Ukip) and Christopher Flossman (Green party).