FEARS are growing that elderly people will be left stranded in South Tynedale’s rural communties when a vital bus service is axed next month.

Operator Arriva has announced it will withdraw its three-times daily 185 service between Haltwhistle and Carlisle from May 22.

Go North East, which jointly operates the 185, will continue to run its existing services along the route, between Haltwhistle and Birdoswald Roman Fort.

But the removal of Arriva’s buses means passengers who live in rural communities, such as Gilsland, Greenhead and Walltown, will not have a direct route to Carlisle.

The news is the latest in a series of blows for rural passengers who have endured the demise of bus services in the area in recent years.

It comes just over two years after Arriva made changes to its services on the 685 route between Newcastle and Carlisle, which started by-passing Gilsland and Greenhead, in December 2013.

This week, Arriva said its 185 services were no longer viable, and that it had continued to run buses on the route after Cumbria County Council withdrew subsidies in 2014.

Area managing director for Arriva North East Nick Knox said: “Extremely low levels of passenger usage have meant that the service has never reached viability.

“Passengers in Gilsland and Low Row can however use the Go North East 185 services.

“Those passengers who live in Haltwhistle can also use the 685 service, which runs hourly. We appreciate that for some passengers, this new arrangement may be less convenient.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Cumbria County Council this week said it was in talks with a voluntary transport organisation with a view to providing a service between Carlisle and the villages of Gilsland and Greenhead.

However, such an arrangement would be likely to operate one or two days per week, instead of Arriva’s six-day service on the 185.

Coun. Mike Wood, of Greenhead Parish Council, said dwindling public transport was making life increasingly difficult for some local people to access shops and services, including medical surgeries.

He explained: “We have tea rooms and pubs, but we don’t have a shop or a post office at either Greenhead or Gilsland.

“Quite a percentage of the population are people who are pensioners, or have no transport of their own, and they are becoming increasingly stranded.”

Coun. Wood said the nearest 685 bus stop, on the A69 at the Greenhead road-end, was too far away for many residents to walk.

Until 2014, Telford’s coaches also provided a service along the 185 route, but this was axed after Cumbria County Council withdrew its subsidy.

Northumberland County Council continues to subsidise rural bus routes, and local county councillor Alan Sharp believes Arriva should not have made such a hasty decision.

He said: “We all know that companies such as Arriva are commercial enterprises and that some rural buses which don’t carry a lot of passengers are not viable.

“But with consultation, we could have worked with them and come up with a solution, because for those who do use the buses, they are a lifeline and are absolutely essential.

“There is an ageing population in our rural communities and to see more public buses removed is a real concern.”