A SHOPWORKER has launched a petition to help save the No.1 Kidderminster bus route, which has been threatened with the axe.

Luke Haynes, who works in H&C Stores, in Severn Grove, has launched the paper petition after speaking to elderly residents about the potential loss of the bus route.

Last week, the Shuttle reported how Diamond Buses said it was facing the difficult decision on whether to cut the service, following plummeting passenger numbers.

The circular No.1 service runs every half hour from 7.32am to 6.02pm from Kidderminster bus station to Stourport Road the Watermill, Rifle Range Teme Avenue and then back.

Mr Haynes said elderly residents as well as schoolchildren use the bus service on a regular basis.

The petition is available to sign at H&C Stores, Kitty's Kitchen and Fortunes Chinese, all in Severn Grove, on the Rifle Range estate.

Mr Haynes said: "I started this petition on the request of some of the elderly people in the local area. I am also a local resident myself, having lived here for nearly 20 years.

"A lot of the residents on Rifle Range, both young and old, rely on the bus service to get to town, as most people do not have access to their own transportation. The service was heavily used by both schoolchildren and residents when the original route went past the hospital and doctors, but this changed and the service no longer follows that route - which has put most residents off and also the buses are regularly late and never on time.

"I have already collected more than 230 signatures since the petition started on August 18 and we are planning to extend the petition to the Foley Park area and in the town centre."

A spokesman from Diamond Buses said: "The key to the future of the No.1 service is the support that it receives from the community it serves.

"We are pleased to hear that local residents are keen to save it. We hope, in their actions to show that support, they catch the bus and use the service regularly again so that passenger numbers grow and the service can be sustained."

Claire Walters, chief executive of Bus Users England, added: "Much as passengers rely on buses to keep their lives on track, bus services rely on regular passengers to keep running.

"This is a good example of passenger power in action and we hope that those who sign the petition also catch the bus to make sure it can keep serving their communities."