A PETITION will be organised against changes to a bus route which provides 'a lifeline for the elderly and disabled.'

Campaigner Kath Strachan says predictions had come true that operator Stagecoach would cut numbers 14 and 15 Whizzard service in Colne once it gained control of Burnley and Pendle Bus Company.

But the company said the services might have stopped altogether, or been subsidised by taxpayers money through the county council, had it not stepped in and decided to continue with minor alterations to the route.

Operations manager for Burnley and Pendle Simon Bennett said a survey had shown that only one person would be affected.

But Kath, of Montague Street, Colne, stormed: "That bus is very well used up here. We fought like hell to keep the route and now Stagecoach has taken over and changed it. "I said they would cut routes and it's come true. It's the elderly and disabled who suffer."

Mr Bennett said Stagecoach had reviewed plans for the services after it gained 100 per cent of Burnley and Pendle Bus Company.

"We asked the county council for this minor tweak to the route operation," he said. The changes meant the services would run more reliably, Mr Bennett added.

Coun Tony Greaves said: "The company has registered the change with the Traffic Commissioners and told the county. It seems they forgot to tell the passengers."

The previous route from the town centre took in Oak Street, Venables Avenue, Regent Avenue and Langroyd Road before returning to Oak Street and the centre.

The new one stays on the Venables Avenue side of Skipton Road but does not take in streets around Langroyd Road.

Stagecoach has also received complaints about services in the Alkincoats Park area of Colne. It said roadworks were to blame but the situation was now back to normal.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.