A COMMUNITY bus service has been set up to connect two west Dorset towns following cuts by the county council.

As part of Dorset County Council's bid to save £500,000 from rural bus services, the subsidy for the South West Coaches 73 bus between Bridport and Maiden Newton was withdrawn - leaving rural communities "very isolated", according to campaigners.

After withdrawing funding for rural services, the council is now planning a shake-up of public and school transport. It wants to reduce the public transport subsidy by £1m and also shave off £850,000 from school transport services, with savings in place by next year.

A charity has now stepped in to connect the two towns. Dorset Community Transport (DCT) will run a bus between Bridport and Maiden Newton every Friday initially, as a trial.

Users of the bus are aiming to "drum up more interest" from villagers to take advantage of the service.

Judith Stinton from Maiden Newton, used the service to visit Bridport on Friday (9).

She said: "I don't have a car so I rely on public transport.

"We would have preferred it to come on a Saturday or Wednesday but it's certainly better than nothing.

"We are trying to drum up more interest in the village. We have the 212 bus to Dorchester, but coming this way is more of a problem. It could open up the village as more of a tourist attraction too."

Ros St Claiyre (corr), also from Maiden Newton, said: "It is very important from me - it's just the principle of having public transport.

"I get disappointed when people don't recognise how useful it is if you live in a rural community and don't drive a car. This is an ageing population and people don't seem to realise that these bus services are vital."

South West Coaches still operate a 73 bus service from Bridport - but it now terminates at Powerstock, rather than continuing to Maiden Newton.

Bob Driscoll, from West Dorset Western Area Transport Action Group (WATAG), said: "From out point of view, the tragedy of this is that the service has been running since 1975, when the railway was stopped.

"This service has always been subsidised. They planned in the last round of consultations that the plan was to operate until the end of July and then it was going to be stopped completely. They then decided, partly because of the school obligation with Powerstock Primary School, they would continue to operate it between Bridport and Powerstock.

"They are just cutting off Maiden Newton completely, and Toller Porcorum and Hooke - and leaving them very isolated."

DCT is also running services between Marshwood and Thorncombe and Thorncombe to Axminster.

For more information about DCT, call 01258 287980 or email dorset@ectcharity.co.uk