'I've made friends on the bus I wouldn't have met'

Residents are "gutted" that a bus service connecting a town's estates to its centre will stop operating.

Developer Story Homes subsidised the C1,C2 and C3 service in Cockermouth, Cumbria, for five years as part of an agreement made when they built the Strawberry Grange estate, but the commitment comes to an end on 1 February.

Cockermouth Town Council said it was pressing Cumberland Council to allocate funding to run the route, but there would likely be a "gap in provision", even if they were successful.

Cumberland Council said it was in the process of carrying out a review across the whole area and they need to analyse results before committing funding.

Hilary Wilson, 74, who lives on Towers Lane and takes the bus into town several times a week she said she was gutted the service would be ending.

She said: "I've made a lot of friends using the bus that I wouldn't normally have made."

She added the bus almost turned into "a social gathering" at times.

"We'll miss each other and we'll miss the availability of the bus."

The service runs every hour from 07:00 to 19:00 and other buses available in the town do not serve the surrounding estates.

Although Mrs Wilson drives, she said getting the bus was easier as the town is often "gridlocked".

She added many residential estates in Cockermouth were uphill and the bus service protected people with mobility issues as well as those who did not drive.

"It's been a good service, if people have to go back to using their cars, that adds more cars to the town which is basically saturated with vehicles," she said.

"It doesn't do the environment much good either."

Richard Watson, mayor of Cockermouth Town Council, said the bus would be missed by many in the town who had come to rely on it.

He said: "A lot of the use of the bus is coming from certain estates where people are less well-off, but even the better well-off people who are elderly, disabled, or don't have a car - they can't afford a taxi every time."

A consultation by Cumberland Council on bus improvement is open until 31 January.

The authority said it would look at route options and "work towards a more viable service based on demand".

A spokesman added: "Prior to the council allocating the next and future phases of the funding we need to analyse the results of the engagement exercise.

"This will include examining how we can maximise the benefits of the funding we have."

A Story Homes spokesman said it had spent £470,000 providing the Cockermouth bus service in the last five years.

They added: "We are proud to have played a role in enhancing local transportation and hope that the residents of Cockermouth have found the service beneficial."

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