A CONTROVERSIAL scheme to shame rowdy schoolchildren by making them travel to and from school in a garish pink bus has got a mixed response from the Island community.

While the crime and Disorder Partnership behind the so-called Pink Peril say the vehicle is a deterrent to rowdy passengers, parents, a children's rights group and MP Andrew Turner are among critics of the scheme.

Lynn Hammond, founder of the Isle of Wight Parents' Action Group, said singling out children with problems by putting them on a pink bus was a form of child abuse while Tory MP Mr Turner said it was the modern equivalent of the stocks.

Niki Haytack, crime and disorder manager for the Island, said: "Trials of the Pink Peril have been successful. When troublemakers have been given a taste of the pink medicine, they don't want a second dose.

"They are known to be embarrassed and to hide their faces on the journey.

"Parents and teachers are fully supportive of the 'punishment bus' and parents say they have seen a change in the youngsters who previously misbehaved."

The Pink Peril, or bus 283, is the oldest vehicle in the Southern Vectis fleet. The heating has been deliberately taken out to provide cold comfort to transgressors.

Mr Turner said: "It is similar to putting people in the stocks.

"I fear children may regard it as a badge of honour rather than a deterrent."

Mrs Hammond said: "There are complex reasons why children misbehave and we need more progressive ideas to deal with their problems than just parading them on a pink bus.

"We need more mature ways of tackling this issue.

"We will make youngsters feel like misfits if they are made to go on a garish bus. It is a form of child abuse."