I FOUND out last week that our local bus service is to be axed.

There are people in our village who do not drive and this bus is their only link, with services taken for granted by many people.

It is not possible to cut down the service because it only runs to York and back on Thursdays.

It arrives in York at 10.35am and returns at 1.52pm giving a reasonable 3hours and 17 minutes to shop, visit the dentist, have lunch or whatever.

An email to the council revealed that it is to be replaced with a weekly bus to Malton, not much use when all appointments are arranged in York, because that is where the bus goes – at the moment.

This comes after the cutting of our mobile library service. We have no shop, no pub, no post office, no way of getting to the swimming pool, library, hospital or dentist when the bus service is axed, no street lights, no footpaths, never see a policeman, no gritting or snow clearing in winter. A taxi to York one way is more than £20.

Yes we chose to live here, but there was a bus then. The council is failing to deliver on so many things for rural communities. All we want is to keep our one bus a week to York.

C Keller, Harton