HUNDREDS of schoolchildren were ferried to school by a driver who had been banned from the road, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Wayne Wells drove a school bus taking youngsters to and from school despite being a disqualified driver.

The case has sparked national calls for tighter controls on people driving our children to school.

Wells was only caught when police carried out random checks in the Hounsdown School area of Totton.

When he appeared in court the 27-year-old admitted three specimen charges of disqualified and uninsured driving, committed while he was working on school bus runs for Home James Coach Travel between March 9 and March 13 this year.

He asked for a further 87 charges to be taken into consideration. The specimen charges involved a double-decker, a 21-seater and a minibus.

The chairman of the bench at New Forest Magistrates' Court, Peter Molyneaux, told him: "Any court faced with such matters would be bound to consider a custodial sentence."

Frank Richardson, prosecuting, said Wells had been driving school buses with children on board last winter. The offences came to light when a police officer carrying out checks, which are encouraged by Hampshire Education Authority, noticed some irregularities in his details.

Later inquiries revealed that he had been disqualified but had continued driving. Wells also admitted obstructing a police officer. The case was adjourned and he was remanded in custody.

A Hampshire police spokesman stressed no action was being taken against Home James as Wells had produced a valid driving licence when given the job.

He added: "The company had carried out all the checks we would expect them to carry out.

"It would appear that he had a licence when he joined them and it was after his employment had begun that he lost that licence - something which the company was not made aware of."

A Home James spokesperson said Wells no longer worked for the company.