Bus users in the rural area to the west of Stafford could face losing their transport if extra funding is not found warns a County Councillor this week.

Barry Stamp, Councillor for Gnosall Division, said he was worried that isolated communities in the Gnosall area could lose the vital bus service provided by Rural Link early next year when central Government funding runs out.

"Over the past two years Rural Link, funded by a grant from Central Government's Rural Bus Challenge, has provided a much need minibus service to a number of villages in the Gnosall, Church Eaton, and Derrington areas. By their very nature the services rarely make a profit and as such are of no interest to commercial bus operators. However for many people they have become an important lifeline. From the very outset it was known that funding would be limited, but the success Rural Link has achieved shows how important it is these services are now maintained. I believe the County Council must find the necessary funding to allow Rural Link to continue its work once the Central Government grant stops. Lack of transport in the rural areas affects many people and makes even the simplest day to day tasks almost impossible. For example local pensioners rely on Rural Link to travel into Gnosall to collect their pension or do their weekly shop while youngsters use the service to travel to Stafford to college or work. From my enquiries I understand around £25,000 would be needed annually to keep the service running. I will now be pressing the County Council not only to take over this funding, but also to consider ways of extending the scheme so even more services can be run for the benefit of Villages in this area," said Councillor Stamp.