TWO bus services that provide a vital lifeline to elderly people from the villages around Ringwood are to be withdrawn because they are not proving economical.

Bus firm Wilts and Dorset has said it will no longer run the 136 and 137 services, which cover a circuit from the town out to Poulner, from January 6 but pensioners fear they will be left high and dry.

Service user Keith Johnson, of Stillwater Park, said: "All the people who live in that area and rely on this service to get into town or to hospital or to get their pensions are going to be totally stranded.

"There are a lot of pensioners that live out there and everybody is up in arms about this already."

Chris Harris, public relations manager for Wilts and Dorset, said the firm is aware of the concerns of people about the withdrawal of the services but that they simply aren't attracting enough passengers to make them viable.

He said: "People are quite upset about it and they have left us in no doubt about that. The truth of the matter is that there aren't enough people using the service to make it viable but those who are using it are very dependent on it."

Bus companies register the services they are prepared to run based on which are viable without being subsidised but can de-register those that are not proving financially viable, as has happened in this case.

But if there is a clear social need for a service which is not making money then local authorities have the power to take on the service and put it out to tender to find a company that will run it with a subsidy.

Hampshire County Council is now looking at the situation and could step in to make sure the services, which currently run every 20 minutes, remain.

A spokesman for the council said: "We're disappointed that Wilts and Dorset have given notice less than a year into the contract with the County Council.

"We understand the passengers concern and we're looking at possible options to keep a service running within the exsisting funding levels."