Kathleen Poynter and Kim Herron Picture: CLARE HOMER Ref: 76855-23A CAMPAIGN has been launched to save a bus route to rural areas outside Swin-don.

Stagecoach has made a decision to terminate the Number 70 bus service in May.

The company says the route, which goes from Marl-borough to Swindon via Chiseldon, is no longer commercially viable.

But now residents in Chiseldon, Marlborough, and other villages like Ogbourne St George and Drayton Foliat are demanding the bus route be saved.

Signatures on a the petition are being collected at the health centre in Station Road, Chiseldon, and it will be presented to Swindon Council at 12.45pm on Tuesday.

Stagecoach said it has had to make the decision on the daytime service after subsidy was cut for half price child fares on other routes as part of the council's £10 million efficiency savings in this year's budget.

The Number 70 service has always been subsidised by Swindon Council in the evenings and the evening service will continue.

Kathleen Poynter, 65, of Castleview Road, Chiseldon, who is heading the campaign says the service is a lifeline.

"This service is absolutely essential for the surrounding villages and for the comm-unity," she said,

"It affects everyone, whether they use it to get to school, college, work, the shops or even the hospital.

"Without this service a lot of elderly people would end up completely housebound as they would be isolated. We are doing all we can to make sure this doesn't happen."

The number 70 service provides 16 of the 27 daily buses between Swindon and Marlborough but it is the only one to stop at the Great Western Hospital.

A spokesman for the bus operator, who would not confirm the passenger figures, said: "We appreciate Marlborough's public transport needs but Swindon Council's decision is impacting on our company.

"Patronage on the buses is not as high as we would like and we are not covering our costs on most journeys."

Campaigners are supported by Wroughton and Chiseldon ward councillor Jemima Milton (Con), the council's lead member for transport and the environment.

She said: "Without this service some villages will become completely isolated. It is also the main service for people to get to the hospital.

"It was not the council's decision to cut this service but Stagecoach's and we will do all we can to ensure its survival."

Jamie Hill