FREE buses to two Hartlepool schools have been axed as part of cost-cutting measures in Hartlepool.

All new pupils of English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College in the town, and St Teresa’s Primary School, will no longer receive the free transport.

Charging for new pupils will begin in September this year in a move which will save the council £130,000.

But existing pupils who already receive the free transport will continue to receive it until they leave the school and the system will be phased out.

Councillors at Hartlepool Borough Council said they had made the decision with a “heavy heart”. The council is facing financial pressures, as it needs to find more than £19m of savings over the next three years.