DROITWICH MP Peter Luff has labelled the Government's free bus pass scheme for pensioners and the disabled as 'a con trick'.

The Conservative MP has dismissed the plans and says there are serious flaws in the scheme.

"I had already pointed out free bus passes weren't much use if there weren't any buses.

"But I also asked what was meant by the scheme being limited to local area travel. I now discover the scheme is even worse than I feared," said Mr Luff.

"In Wychavon, the current half price bus pass scheme allows our residents who are eligible to travel at any time - not just off peak - within the district and to adjoining areas - this can include Birmingham and as far as Shrewsbury if individuals wanted to do such trips.

"We now know Gordon Brown's scheme is for off-peak travel in the district only. So Wychavon pensioners who want to travel by bus to Worcester, not a particularly unusual request, will get nothing. And people in outlying villages who want to travel to Evesham or Droitwich in the peak, who currently get half-price fares, will get nothing either," he added.

"On top of that, it is still not clear how the cash for this new scheme will be distributed around local authorities. We could be in the bizarre position of having a more expensive scheme, for which councils are not properly recompensed, which gives local people a less valuable benefit," he said.

Two weeks ago Droitwich Spa Town Council agreed to subsidise bus passes for elderly and disabled townsfolk. Now a pass costs £12.50 for three months.