Bus passengers and campaigners have reacted with fury after it was revealed a number of services in Weymouth and west Dorset are being axed.

First Wessex has announced changes to weekly and Sunday services as part of the 2017/2018 winter timetable, which will come into effect on Sunday, November 19.

The cuts include Sunday services withdrawn from service 3 (Westham) and service 8 (Chickerell). Buses on these routes will also reduce to every 30 minutes Monday-Saturday and will end at 7.30pm, instead of running into late evening.

Service 4 (Preston) will also lose its Sunday service.

Sunday services from Dorchester to Bridport (X51) and Weymouth to Bridport (X53) will also be withdrawn as part of the winter timetable. The Monday-Saturday timetable will remain the same for both services.

According to First Wessex the changes are in response to the seasonal level of passenger demand, as well as congestion issues, withdrawal of subsidies and to ensure long-term sustainability of the routes.

Service 1 (Portland), service 2 (Littlemoor) and service 10 (Weymouth-Dorchester), will reduce in frequency, operating every 12-minutes throughout the day Monday-Friday. These changes are designed to better match resources to demand. Whilst on service 10, it is hoped the changes will improve the reliability as roadworks continue to take place in Dorchester.

Weymouth resident Jackie Isbell, chairman of the First Bus Panel, said she was not informed of the changes, and said there will be particular problems for those who rely on Westham and Chickerell buses later in the evening.

She said: “This is going to be horrendous. The panel hasn’t been told about the changes. Nothing has been said to us.

“We have so many people who work in the town who won’t be able to get home. A lot of youngsters rely on services to get back from after school clubs and to see friends, and people use the service to get home."

Mike Kelly, President of Weymouth and Portland Access Group, said the changes will cause loneliness for those in isolated communities.

He said: "It is very serious for people who are stranded. What we have noticed is that there is a great concern about degree of loneliness amongst old people and young people as well who live in the countryside. These services are important to give people contact with the outside world.

"It will also make it difficult for younger people to consider living in outline communities."

Cllr Christine James, who represents Westham, said: "It is another one of First Buses ideas- let’s go and cut more people off and cut more buses.

"In my area there is a lot of elderly people and young people who need to get out and into town and they will be left with no choice but to walk or get taxis which aren’t always a viable option. I am not happy."

Cllr Ros Kayes, who represents Bridport, said: “People rely on those services to get to work and people do work on Saturday and Sunday. Whether they work in care homes, in retail or in cafes, an awful lot of people commute using those buses.

“It is not acceptable. It sounds like what they’re saying is we are prepared to heap income when tourists use the buses but not for the people who live here all year round.”

Simon Newport, General Manager of First Wessex, said: “It’s necessary to make these changes for our winter timetable to reflect the level of demand. There’s a considerable drop off in passengers and we must match our resources to the revenue that we generate to make the business sustainable in the long term. Alongside the declining passenger from November onwards, we also receive the minimum level of external funding from local government, meaning that difficult choices must be made regarding the level of service that we can viably operate. This way we can safeguard these routes for the future.”