ORGANISERS of Malvern's Dial-a-Ride buses have urged town councillors to continue supporting the vital service.

Malvern Town Council gives an annual £10,000 grant towards the £73,000 yearly running costs of the three buses that provide a lifeline for elderly and infirm residents.

Dial-a-Ride's Patricia Hailes updated councillors at their meeting this week.

"We have been running since October 1999 in Malvern and provide a service for people unable to use public transport," she explained.

"We take people to the hospital, doctors appointments, to visit sick friends, all sorts of trips. The majority of our calls are from people who need help getting into and out of the vehicle, putting on their coats, carrying their shopping, etc."

She said there had been an 18 per cent increase in the number of calls to Dial-a-Ride so far this year. Last year, the service received 6,267 call-outs, and so far this year it have had 5,727.

Dial-a-Ride relies on people paying to use the service and grants to fund its annual expenditure, which was £73,000 last year. Last year's income was £59,933 and the overspend was funded by the trust which operates Dial-a-Ride schemes.

"This is the year of the disabled and we hope Malvern Town Council will be able to continue to support this very important scheme which people rely on to get out from their four walls," added Ms Hailes.