A VITAL community transport service in Malmesbury that provides day trips for residents in care homes is under threat.

The Cartmell Community Minibus is used by a number of care homes in the area, as well local youth groups, but is becoming financially unviable.

The current 17-seater was purchased in 2009, with help from donations by the Malmesbury League of Friends, the Malmesbury Carnival, and other community groups.

Due to its age and the strict safety checks it needs to pass every 10 weeks, the bus is costing more and more to run, so needs replacing.

As soon as the group save up money for a replacement however, a safety check will lead to another large bill, setting them back.

Stan Paginton, manager of the minibus, said the community need to “use it or lose it”.

“We haven’t got a lot of money in the bank, and we get hit with a hefty bill every time it has a safety check,” he said.

“When we had the bus to begin with there was none of this.

“We don’t get any grants from Wiltshire Council anymore and we can’t get grants if we have a certain amount saved up, so it’s a chicken or the egg situation. It’s frustrating.”

If the money cannot be raised to replace the bus, Stan says the service will be lost for good.

With rural bus services in the county potentially under threat from council cuts, the minibus might become an increasingly important service in the future.

“I don’t know what the groups who use it will do,” he said.

“These care homes look forward to going out and rely on it, it will be such a shame if we lose it.”

Athelstan House care home uses the minibus several times a week to give residents trips out to local villages or to Longleat and other areas of interest.

Mandy Palfrey, manager at the care home, said the bus provides residents with “freedom”.

“It’s good that we’ve got the use of the bus as hiring coaches is really expensive,” she said.

“We are able to take residents out more than we would be able to do without it, they go out so much in that bus.

“It’s a flexible service which means we don’t have to plan trips weeks in advance.

“The residents wouldn’t be able to go out as often if we had to hire coaches.”

Mandy said that to fund trips on coaches would mean dipping into the amenity fund at the care home, leaving less money for other uses.

Wiltshire Council are currently reviewing bus services in the county, with an eye to make significant savings in their transport budget.

Rural bus routes, which run in and around Malmesbury, look likely to face cuts due to the amount of subsidy they rely on to run.

Councillors have cited community transport services, such as the Cartmell minibus, as solutions to the potential cuts.