AFTER 16 years of campaigning, elderly residents in Graham Road, Malvern, finally have a bus service to take them into the town centre.

Worcestershire County Council has teamed up with Aston's Coaches to run a twice-daily service into Great Malvern, six days a week.

The service started on Monday, September 3.

The scheme was welcomed by Nancy Jones, who has been campaigning for the return of public transport to Graham Road since it was withdrawn by Midland Red 16 years ago.

Mrs Jones's persistence finally paid off when the county council decided to look again at the viability of the service and began talks with Aston's.

"When the service was withdrawn we were left with a bus that takes you out of town but not one that will take you in," said Mrs Jones.

"It meant we had to walk the length of Graham Road, which is up a slight hill and difficult to push a wheelchair along."

Mrs Jones, 80, said the final straw was in May of this year, when free bus passes were handed out to pensioners.

"I just thought 'this is ridiculous we have bus passes and no buses'," she said.

"The new service takes us along Moorlands Road and Worcester Road and drops us off outside the Foley Arms.

"It's really ideal for us because it means we can do all our shopping going down the hill on Church Street and get the bus out again at the bottom."

Tom Preston, of Worcestershire County Council, said: "We're all glad to get the service up and running and we hope it's an effective solution to the problem.

"It has been a long wait but this is definitely a step in the right direction."

The new number 675 service runs from Monday to Saturday, leaving Graham Road at 10.12am and 12.02pm, and running via Graham Road, Moorlands Road and Worcester Road (calling at any stop on request). The services arrive at the Foley Arms at 10.17am and 12.07pm respectively.

For more information, call Traveline on 0870 608 2 608 or Aston's Coaches on 01905 820201.