FREE bus passes for the elderly and disabled in Redditch will be back in operation on Friday, December 24.

The new scheme means disabled pass holders can travel for free within the borough and also between Redditch and Worcestershire and between Redditch and Birmingham.

Elderly pass holders will be entitled to travel within the Redditch boundary for free.

And those passengers will only have to pay half of the normal adult fare for journeys which fall outside of the borough boundary between Redditch and Worcester and Redditch and Birmingham.

Registered users of the council's Dial-A-Ride service will only be charged 30p for all journeys within the borough.

A controversial decision to scrap free bus passes was pushed through by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups on the council last December.

It was agreed to replace it with a new 30p flat-rate fee scheme, which took months to negotiate with the bus companies and was implemented on July 1.

But following the local elections in which Labour regained control, new Council Leader David Cartwright vowed to reintroduce a free scheme as quickly as possible.

Mr Cartwright said: "We are delighted to be re-introducing free travel for elderly and disabled people.

"I am pleased we have been able to re-introduce the passes within six months and would like to thank the council officers and bus operators for enabling this and carrying out the negotiations so quickly.

"We can now look forward to concentrating on tackling other public transport needs in the borough."

Current pass holders have now been sent letters by the council to explain the new fares scheme.