BUS users are to benefit from 20 new shelters after Redditch councillors gave plans the green light at a meeting on Monday, writes Matthew Smith.

The sponsored bus shelters will be sited across the town and in place early next year at no cost to the taxpayer.

The move comes after the council's £10,000 annual budget to replace constantly vandalised bus shelters proved inadequate.

Councillor David Cartwright said shelters were being damaged within weeks of being erected and to keep replacing all of them could have cost up to £50,000 a year.

He said: If a bus shelter was damaged, instead of funding the replacement we would take the bus stop out.

And over the past 12 months or so, a number of bus shelters have been removed.

There was no point replacing shelters which were just going to be damaged - it was potentially a bottomless pit.

Mr Cartwright added: There are definitely 20 bus shelters going to be put up in and around Redditch but there could be more in the future.

I know there will definitely be one in Webheath.

Councillor Ken Somner, who is chairman of the public and environmental services committee, said the scheme was good news for bus users.

He said: The brand new bus shelters will be cleaned and maintained for free and will be very worthwhile.

There are two firms competing for the sponsored shelters but their names are confidential.