The first day of term proved particularly tough for a number of students trying to get to school today.

The Arriva 575 service due to leave Kings Hill at 7.31 failed to arrive, leaving students heading for Oakwood Park, Invicta and Maidstone Grammar Schools stranded.

Paul Temperton, father of one of the boys, said: “They were there for 50 minutes before realising it wasn’t coming and another parent took them to school by car.”

Mr Temperton was angry not only at the poor service, but at the absence of any notification via social media that the bus had been cancelled.

He said: “This has been happening all to often.

“My son Ben, who started at Oakwood Park, last term, has nine lates marked against his name on the school register - and they are all down to the poor service from Arriva.”

Mr Temperton said: “Something needs to be done. We are paying £275 a year for a KCC Freedom Pass. The price keeps going up, but the service is getting worse.”

The 575 is a school service that starts in Snodland and goes via Kings Hill, West Malling, Leybourne, Larkfield, Aylesford and Barming, to reach the Maidstone schools. It is usually standing room only before it reaches the town.

Kevin Root, Arriva’s general manager at its Maidstone depot, said: “We would like to apologise for the incident this morning. Unfortunately the bus suffered a suspension breakdown so although it left on time, it failed to reach its destination.

“Ordinarily we would have several vehicles in reserve and would have been able to dispatch a replacement but because we knew it was going to be a busy morning, all our buses were out on the road to help manage the back to work and school rush.

“Unfortunately because it was such a hectic period the social media announcement that should have been made about the breakdown was overlooked. We are looking at ways to ensure this does not happen again but this morning’s situation was very rare.”

Meanwhile, Norman Kemp, the MD of rival bus company Nu-Venture, said his services had suffered from severe congestion around Larkfield this morning.

He said traffic had ground to a halt in what he described as “a perfect storm.”

Motorists were hit by a double-whammy with a burst water main in New Hythe Lane closing the road, plus an accident on the London-bound carriageway of the M20 near Junction 3.

Tailbacks on the motorway soon extended back to Junction 5, for the A20 at Aylesford, while local roads around Larkfield also seized up.

Mr Kemp said: “With this being the first day back after the New Year break we were expecting delays: firstly because Tuesdays are always busier, and secondly, because the long-term commuters would be travelling today instead of Monday, but we never expected anything as bad.”

Mr Kemp said some of his company’s school buses picked up on time, but were two hours late getting the students to school.

“We’ve never seen a day like it,” he said.

The motorway is now clear and local congestion has also eased.