CUTS in the bus service on the Rifle Range estate in Kidderminster have prompted irate residents and councillors to launch a petition demanding immediate action.

Wyre Forest District Councillor Nathan Desmond, who started the petition with fellow councillor Susan Meekings, said residents were "incandescent with rage" and branded the service an "absolute disgrace".

He said the petition said the undersigned were "unhappy with the quality, frequency and reliability" of buses in the Rifle Range and demanded "swift, immediate action be taken to restore the service to a satisfactory level".

Father of three Brett Terry, who lives in Teme Avenue, said the service had deteriorated "to almost nothing" in recent years, while 80-year-old Ivy Connolly said she had waited up to three hours for a bus to arrive.

Mr Terry, 31, explained there used to be three buses an hour going from the estate to Kidderminster centre but this had dropped to one per hour - and these were often late.

Explaining he worked as a volunteer for the Network Advice shop on the Rifle Range estate, he said: "We've had quite a few people come to the shop who have been upset by the situation.

"You can't go to a bus stop and know a bus will turn up at a certain time - because it won't."

Mr Desmond said passengers had also complained because they could not use the same ticket for the return journey because a different company ran that service.

"Residents, especially pensioners, who rely on this service have put up with a poor service for too long," he said, "It's about time the bus company was held accountable."

The petition can be found in shops on the Rifle Range estate and is being taken around houses by the councillors.

Commercial director for First, Steve Zanker, said the service had been reduced on the Rifle Range for commercial reasons.

He said the same ticket could not be used for return journeys because Worcestershire County Council had put the service out to tender when First reduced the frequency of buses serving the Rifle Range.

"I've spoken to people at the depot and we don't know of any major reliability issues," he added, "There is a difference between the reliability and frequency of buses."