RESIDENTS of an East Cornwall village are rallying together to try to get a bus service back through the village after cut backs have meant people have been left 'cut off and isolated'.

A meeting was held last week in St Dominick, attended by around 30 residents, to discuss what could be done about the loss of the bus service in the village.

The changes in service came along with the change of providers — since the demise of DAC Coaches the route was taken on by Western Greyhound but now is covered by First Western National and Plymouth Citybus.

Representatives of First, Plymouth Citybus and Jacketts Transport — a small bus company that operates in the area — attended the meeting.

It was pointed out by attendees that the neighbourhood had a mix of elderly people who no longer drive and numerous families with young children who rely on buses to get them to Callington, Saltash, Plymouth or Tavistock.

David Hatch, who instigated the meeting at the village's Methodist Chapel, said: 'It is causing considerable hardship. People can't get into Callington to go to the doctors and people who have moved into social housing here have said that they would never have moved to the village if they knew there wasn't going to be a bus service.'

He said at the moment there is a service that goes through the village early in the morning and another late at night, which not a lot of people use because they are at the wrong times.

Mr Hatch said they suggested this service could be stopped and a service put on at a more popular time.

'We're just trying to get a service back. We appreciate it is expensive but maybe just one bus a week to Tavistock and to Plymouth or even just a bus into Callington now and then — we don't expect an hourly service.'

He said at the moment some people walk a mile and a half from the village to St Mellion, along the major road to Plymouth, which has no pavement and no street lights to catch a bus. He said there was a nurse in the village who works at Derriford Hospital and pays £56 a day on taxi fares and a couple of people who work at Callington Tesco who spend their wages on taxi rides.

'The people of St Dominick have a pretty good community spirit and help each other as much as we can,' said Mr Hatch. 'People with cars help give lifts but people don't want to have to rely on others to get around.'

He said people from outside the village who used the former service complained that it took between five and seven minutes to detour through St Dominick and those people had effectively 'taken away the privilege' of a service and isolated the villagers.

Cornwall Councillor for Callington Andrew Long, who has been campaigning for a better service for St Dominick, had previously said: 'We are left with the situation that only one bus a day goes south through the village.

Most of the services that the village requires are based in Callington, which is not accessible, apart from a dial-a-ride taxi service. Clearly this is bad news for the most vulnerable in our society who rely on public transport.'

At the meeting, Mr Smith from First Western National explained it was no longer possible for a bus route to continue unless it was financially viable. He said data showed that not enough St Dominick customers used the 76 service and time was being wasted detouring through the village. Mr Collins, from Plymouth Citybus, and Mr Jackett, from Jacketts Transport, both echoed his views.

It was agreed at the meeting to press Cornwall Council to examine its rural public transport policies and give a high priority to the way in which services may be financed.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said officers had not yet been contacted by any representative for the residents.

They said:?'The council currently funds early morning journeys into Plymouth for schools and work with a late afternoon return operated by First Kernow; additional evening journeys provided by Plymouth Citybus and day time journeys by a dial-a-ride taxi service.'

Residents are being encouraged to attend a Plymouth Citybus consultation in Callington tomorrow (Friday) being held on a 'Chatter Bus' at the bus stop at the junction of New Road and Fore Street from 1.30pm to 3pm.