AN elderly resident who fought to keep a vital transport link in the Cotswolds alive was devastated to find out she would not be able to use the replacement bus service she had campaigned for.

Jenny Brookes, a Down Ampney resident, had been using a bus service that dropped villagers to Tesco in Cirencester for their weekly shop for two years with her husband.

She fought to keep the service alive, gathering more than 100 signatures on a petition.

On hearing about the problem, Community Connexions, a community bus charity, offered to step in and replace the service.

Mrs Brookes later discovered that she would not be eligible to ride the new bus, as she holds a Wiltshire bus pass, rather than a Gloucestershire one, despite having a GL postcode.

She says this has caused her and her husband, who can hardly walk now, to lose their independence.

“Now we have got to rely on other people,” she said.

“This bus is going to go by our door and back up by our door.”

Mrs Brookes said she and her husband now have to do a two-week shop, resorting to freezing milk to ensure their house remains stocked.

A spokesperson for Community Connexions said: “Community Connexions is a Gloucestershire based charity commissioned by the county to help Gloucestershire residents with their transport needs.

“Using our limited resources we were able to step in at short notice to provide an essential bus service following the decision by Tesco to longer fund this transport.

“The users of this service are able to use their Gloucestershire County Council concessionary bus passes.

“We are very sympathetic to the situation that this couple, who hold Wiltshire County Council concessionary bus passes, finds themselves in through no fault of their own and hope that a suitable resolution will be found.”

Alan Bently, integrated transport manager at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Following Tesco’s decision to cancel their service in Cirencester, Community Connexions agreed to step in to run the route.

“They are helping to provide local residents with a vital link to the supermarket in Cirencester, which is fantastic news.

“However, as a Gloucestershire based charity, their focus and funding is to support Gloucestershire residents. Residents from Wiltshire will need to contact Wiltshire council to ask for help.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said: “We are currently in discussions with Community Connextions to try and resolve this issue.”