A LIFELINE bus link from Accrington to Royal Blackburn Hospital will no longer serve Green Haworth following funding cuts.

The 14 and 14A route will be diverted so it no longer serves Green Haworth, Fern Gore and Broadfield, although there are alternatives for the latter two neighbourhoods .

It comes after Lancashire County Council made several changes to subsidised services after £93,000 was withdrawn by town hall chiefs in Blackburn with Darwen for ‘cross-border’ routes.

The changes, which come into effect on July 26, also effect several other villages including Brockhall and Salesbury in the Ribble Valley, which will see their services reduced from hourly to two-hourly.

Hyndburn Councillors have expressed their outrage about the cuts calling the service a 'lifeline' for elderly people in the community.

Councillor Judith Addison, who represents the Immanuel ward, said: "As councillors we are very concerned about the changes being made to the number 14 bus route.

"We have been approached by a number of residents about the changes and by the headteacher at Green Howarth CE Primary School who is also worried about how it might affect pupils going to and from the school.

"The bus is a lifeline for a lot of people, especially elderly people and those who don't drive.

"At the next full council meeting we hope to be addressing the issue to see if there is anything we can do to keep the service going."

Lancashire County Council said that there are an average of 15 passenger trips made per day to Green Howorth, with the majority of the journeys made by people going to and from Green Howarth CE Primary School.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "We've done our best to minimise the impact on Lancashire residents of the reduction in funding for these cross-boundary services.

"Our priority for the 14/14A service from Chatburn to Royal Blackburn Hospital has been to maintain the Monday to Saturday hourly service between the districts of Hyndburn and Ribble Valley and Royal Blackburn Hospital.

"Unfortunately to maintain this important link within the resources available, the route between Accrington and the hospital has been revised to go via Oswaldtwistle no longer serving Fern Gore, Green Haworth and Broadfield.

"The majority of the 15 daily passenger trips to and from Green Haworth are made by schoolchildren, and from September the 867 School Bus Service serving Mount Carmel RC High School will be extended through Fern Gore to and from Green Haworth Primary School.

"Anyone left without access to public transport may be eligible to use the Hyndburn Dial-a-Bus scheme operated by the county council's Travelcare service."