'CUT-OFF' villagers are pushing for a cancelled bus route to Swindon to be reinstated.

The number 64 used to travel 16 miles up the A361 across three counties from Swindon to Highworth to Lechlade and Carterton but got pulled from service in 2016 due to funding cuts, despite a fight to save it.

People living in the village of Filkins and Broughton Poggs near Carterton say the lack of a direct route means it now takes more than an hour of connecting buses to reach the same destination.

Lee Bennett is leading the community effort to rally support for the return of the bus service.

He said: "It was a vital lifeline and ideal for people who wanted to pop on a bus, do what they wanted and get back easily. Now many of us are not connected at all, and for those of us who are connected, our links are limited.

"People want their independence but many elderly people who live in villages are now isolated.

"This should not be a political matter or about county rivalry, but be about reconnecting our communities again so we can reach further afield and remove the isolation and neglect they have faced.

"The need for our rural communities to be reconnected to employment, education, local amenities and to services further afield needs to be recognised."

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We ended our support for Service 64 almost a decade ago due to poor usage in Swindon as well as a cross-over with the more frequent Service 7 from Highworth to Swindon.

“At the time, we only supported the service as it ran along Gypsy Lane and past the Kingsdown mobile home park, not because of the villages on the complete route.

"This route was more useful for those living in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, rather than the people of Swindon. Therefore, we ended our funding.

“Last year we published the Bus Service Improvement Plan and one of the proposals is to propose a demand responsive service north-west of Highworth, where vehicles alter their route and journey based on passenger demand without using a fixed route or timetabled journey. This usually operates where a regular bus service is not financially viable.

“We are working with neighbouring local authorities on cross-boundary services where appropriate which would include a Carterton to Swindon service. This plan is still in the process of securing government funding and until that process is over, we cannot comment any further.”

Stagecoach West managing director Rachel Geliamassi said: “The number 64 from Swindon to West Oxfordshire was not operated by Stagecoach when it ceased in 2016 following Oxfordshire County Council’s withdrawal of its local bus subsidy budget. 

"Commercially, this route is not viable and, as it covers several regions – Swindon Borough, Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire - we are not aware of authority looking to start a new contract to operate the service."