A west Dorset community bus service is marking a year in action - and there are no plans to discontinue it.

The Beaminster Town Council run CB3 bus, which links villages between Bridport and Crewkerne on a Saturday, has been serving the local community for a year this month and it has been doing very well.

Beaminster Town Council chairman, Cllr Chris Turner, told members at a council meeting that the CB3 service continues to be a success and that it will carry on going.

He said: “I have to give credit, particularly to concessionary passengers, those with bus passes, for their consistent generosity on their weekly donations to the bus - we are very grateful for that, it does keep us going but obviously it helps contribute to the ongoing costs and one off costs we do also have.

“At least I can reassure those who have expressed concerns about whether its going to last, we are determined to make sure it does last. This is not just a flash in the pan, we’re going to keep going.

“We have, albeit not enough volunteers, we do have some drivers, but we always welcome new volunteers and helpers.”

However, changes are being made to the timetable and soon the bus will no longer serve Salway Ash due to lack of passengers.

Cllr Turner added: “The variation with the timetable has been sent off to both the Dorset Council and Somerset County council, and they have sent back their approval I am pleased to say and a full bundle has gone to the traffic commissioner for their approval.

“We’ve had three passengers [from Salway Ash] in the time its been going, so we are moving that leg in the variation, so we don’t have to contend with narrow, muddy roads.”

Cllr Janet Page reported that they have previously had to turn people away because the bus is full.

Cllr Turner said: “We need to encourage people to use the buses when they are not the peak times, the key one that we fill up is the 10.20am from Crewkerne, and that’s always pretty full by the time we get to Beaminster, let alone further on.

“We need to encourage them to use the quitter buses.

“However, we are grateful people continue to use and we will continue to provide it.”