The route starts in Sculthorpe, before going over a small pedestrian refuge island on the A148 that leads to Fakenham Road.

It then takes pedestrians over a stretch of the A1065 and through a residential area to get to Fakenham Academy.

A safety assessment carried out by Norfolk County Council concluded the route was suitable for home to school transport purposes – removing the requirement to provide a bus service for children in the village.

Lawrence Southerland described the council's reasoning behind the assessment as (Image: Newsquest)

But serious concerns were raised about the methodology and conclusions by Sculthorpe man Lawrence Southerland, who described them as "mathematically flawed" and "factually incomplete".

Mr Southerland, 44, whose youngest son is due to start secondary school next year, said: "The council said the route is fine, that it’s safe to walk, but it isn’t, and that’s why we’ve challenged it.

"The assessment said that there is no continuous pedestrian footway along large sections of the route. Children are expected to........

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