A furious pensioner is determined to raise the plight of villagers who lose their buses.

Peggy Jones, 90, of Willaston, frequently travelled to Chester on the now-defunct 22 service operated by Wirral-based Avon Buses.

This linked West Kirby to Chester, with Cheshire West and Chester Council paying a small subsidy to allow a diversion through Willaston and also Mollington at their request.

The service, which ended last month, became uneconomical to run when the subsidy was withdrawn and a new X22 service was instigated by Stagecoach, which left off Willaston entirely.

Mrs Jones argues the old service was used by those in Willaston without a car who have to visit Chester.

Mrs Jones used the 22 three times a week, including travel to see her sister in the city.

“(Prime Minister) David Cameron promised not to take pensioners’ bus passes away but the bus company has in effect taken my pass from me,” she said.

“I am disgusted with the situation. Nobody is getting their teeth into this.”

She accepts Avon could not run at a loss but believes some of the busier services through Willaston could have continued if the Stagecoach X22 had not made an appearance.

Willaston and Thornton ward borough councillor Myles Hogg (Con) sought a meeting with transport officers when the possible demise of the route through Willaston first emerged.

He said: “The 22 is a commercial service and only receives a very small council subsidy.

“Sadly the current service is not economical to run according to Avon especially since the X22 service was instigated by Stagecoach recently.

“Alternatives include the Plus Bus service, the Chester Community Car Scheme and the use of the 272 service to meet up with the no 1 and 2 services from Ellesmere Port to Chester.

“There may have been comparatively few users but to them the 22 was a vital link to other parts of our area.”

The Willaston Residents and Countryside Society says it considered the issue ‘in considerable detail’ as it shares the concerns of residents about the loss of the service.

A 350-signature petition was raised calling for the council to provide an alternative.

Society chairman Chris Hampshire said: “Unfortunately Stagecoach decided to set up their X22 in direct competition with the 22 service and Avon, which was the operator, decided it was now no longer commercially viable to operate the service at all, regardless of whether it came through Willaston.

“Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Executive agreed in February this year to reduce local transport subsidies by 50% to be phased in over the next three years.

“This meant that even the subsidy for the 22 service was withdrawn. The council approached Stagecoach to see if a number of X22 services could be diverted through Willaston but this was declined by Stagecoach.

“The Residents’ Society are very concerned at this situation but it appears there is little we can do.

“We are working with Cllr Hogg who is investigating a number of other potential solutions.

“There are a couple of other transport options including the Plus Bus, although none of these alternative options will provide the comprehensive bus service we had.”

Managing director of Avon Buses, George Lewis, said: “Two factors have made it necessary to withdraw our service 22 West Kirby to Chester, the first being the newly introduced service X22 which has abstracted passengers from a route that has never had a high passenger demand.

“The second is that although the core route has been run commercially, the diversions into Willaston and Mollington were at the request of and funded by the local authority.

“This funding has now been removed making it impossible to cover the costs of continuing to run the service.”

Stagecoach confirmed there will not be any change to the X22 service which will continue to act as an express service between Heswall, Neston and Chester.

Elisabeth Tasker, managing director of Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire, said: “We continually keep our network under review to ensure that we meet the needs of our customers.

“At this time we have no plans to change the existing X22 service.

“For the very low numbers of passengers in Willaston who have used the service to get to Chester, there are still other services available.”