A mother from Christow claims that Devon County Council has failed in its duty of care, after her disabled son was left behind at the school bus stop. Tom Sewell, who has Downs Syndrome, and two first-year pupils, were asked to get off the bus and wait at the bus stop near Christow Community Centre as there was no more room. Tom, who is 16, was travelling to Teign School, on September 4, with his 13-year-old sister Helena. But she did not realise he had been left behind until the bus pulled away. Mum, Lyn, said: 'Tom has Downs Syndrome and a statement of educational needs requiring maximum teaching assistant support at school. He only has one hand. He has undergone major heart surgery. He wears hearing aids and spectacles.' Now she wants to know why the Hookways driver did not wait at the bus stop until the next bus arrived, which she has been told is a condition of their contract. She says her son had a bus pass, but questions whether everyone on the bus did. When she rang the county council to complain, she was told the driver did not check the passes as he had no list. The two younger pupils were given a lift by a woman in a red car. Whether Tom was offered one and whether he refused, as he has been told not to go with strangers, she is not sure. Luckily, he walked the quarter-of-a-mile uphill to the village shop, where a shop assistant, who knows the family, rang Lyn at home. Fortunately Lyn, a teaching assistant, was not at work. Mrs Sewell says the county council has failed in its duty of care. She has demanded a written statement setting out how the council will ensure this does not happen again. She also wants an apology to her son from both Hookways and the county council. 'I was very angry at the time. I am relieved that Tom is OK and astonished that someone would leave three pupils behind. In this case it was very fortunate that our son did not wander off somewhere, get lost or go with a stranger.' Hookways coach company in Exeter declined to comment and referred the matter to the county council. According to Devon County Council, officers do carry out quality assurance checks on vehicles including loadings and passes. They also work closely with schools and have a very good working relationship with Teign School to ensure that transport operates efficiently. The county council transports in excess of 22,000 students a day and part of the quality control is to ensure that contractors adhere to the terms and conditions of their contract. A Devon County Council spokesman said: 'The incident has been investigated and it seems additional students travelling on the bus had not reapplied for transport passes, so three students were asked to remain at the bus stop. An officer from the council has visited the contractor to reaffirm that they must carry out county council policy and contractual obligations at all times.'