PENDLE'S civic leaders are demanding the return of the X43 bus service from Colne to Manchester.

Councillors claim hundreds of residents have been left stranded by Burnley and Pendle Travel's decision to terminate the route at Nelson. Now they are calling on Lancashire County Council to replace as many cut bus services as it can.

Coun Laurence Turner said: "The X43 service seems to have been cut from Colne without much notice and people have been taken by surprise.

"I'm one of the hundreds of people who used to use the bus to Colne. Originally, I'm told, this service used to run from Skipton. Then that was curtailed to Colne and now it's Nelson to Manchester."

Council leader Coun Alan Davies said: "People have moved to Colne knowing there is a major bus service. Their working day has now been extended by an hour or two and that's wrong. If it's significant that there are three high schools between Nelson and Colne and maybe this company don't want their new buses used by large numbers of school children, as some people have suggested, that is a tragedy if that's the case."

Coun David Whipp said: "It's not just the X43, this extends to many more services. Across in West Craven mainline services have been eroded. There are less services than there were previously. Services are poorer now across Pendle than they were before and the X43 is the most obvious example. We ought as an authority to be striving as far as we can to keep services."

Councillors have now called on Lancashire County Council to restore as many services as possible.

Burnley and Pendle Travel's commercial director Duncan Allen said many of the passengers using the X43 were travelling locally and therefore the increased frequency of the Mainline service had met demand.

He also denied the move had been made to cut the number of high school children on the new fleet of buses. The changes also helped the company cut red tape by complying with domestic drivers regulations instead of European ones which apply on journeys of 50 kilometres or more.

Mr Allen said: "Whenever a section or route is withdrawn or we make changes people affected will always voice their disapproval at what we've done. The new arrangements are working very well and we're happy with what we've done."