DISABLED residents in Evesham with a valid bus pass will be able to travel all day for free from Saturday, April 1.

Journeys across district boundaries and even over county boundaries will be free as long as the trip starts and ends in Worcestershire.

Under the new scheme, which has been sanctioned by Worcestershire County Council and the county's six district councils, companions travelling with the disabled person will also receive free travel.

Eligible travellers include the blind, partially sighted, profoundly or severely deaf and those without speech as well as those with a disability or injury which seriously impairs the ability to walk or the use of both arms.

The scheme also includes people with a learning disability or those who have had their licences refused or revoked on medical or physical grounds.

Emilie van de Graaf, Worcestershire County Council's passenger transport development manager, said: "With all the district councils working so closely together, this comprehensive scheme for residents with a disability is going to be easy to use, easy to understand and apply for and give real benefits for disabled people and those travelling with them as companions.

"We have also been working hard with operators to introduce more low floor buses to enable mobility impaired people to access services more easily."

The new plans are supplementary to the Government's statutory scheme, which specifies free bus travel only between 9.30am and 11pm Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday, within district boundaries.