ANGER is growing in villages around Malvern about vital bus services being axed.

Residents say the public transport cuts, implemented by operator First Bus, will leave people isolated and unable to reach vital services.

They are also upset that they only found out about the cuts this week when bus drivers told their passengers about it.

The changes, due to be made in April, mean that services through Malvern Wells, Welland, Hanley Swan and Hanley Castle will be curtailed.

County councillor Tom Wells, who led a campaign two years ago which saved bus services that were under threat, has started an online petition at change.org, which has now attracted nearly 500 signatures.

He said: "Our petition already has hundreds of signatories showing how important this service is to individual people. It will be very useful in helping us to argue our case in the coming weeks.”

Welland parish council chairman Viv Nelson said: “The village is about to dramatically increase in size with the new housing developments which include a number of social and affordable houses.

"Welland already has an ageing population. Those without their own transport will find themselves stranded in the village if they are elderly, disabled or both. The bus service is a life line to many people living around here.

"Since being designated a category one village we have already lost our pub. Now they want to take away our public transport as well. What is worse is that we only know about it because elderly residents using the buses were told by the drivers.”

David Taverner, clerk to Malvern Wells Parish Council, said: "This is an issue that is causing a great deal of concern here, and we will be taking it up at the highest levels with both First and the county council."

Sue Adeney of Hanley Castle Parish Council said: "People are very disturbed by this, both by the cuts themselves and by the fact that they seem to have been done at the drop of a hat. If they are able to do this, what other bus services are safe?"

Sarah East, general manager for First Worcester, said: “We realise that some of the changes that are being introduced, especially where there are reductions in services, will not be popular with the few people that use them, but we need to concentrate our resources in areas where there is a high demand for a bus service.

"There is very little funding available today to support services that are used by just a handful of people and so unfortunately we have to make difficult decisions in the future of these services. That said, we will always look at ways to try and accommodate residential areas by linking services or if necessary reduce frequencies to keep a service operational."