Dorchester residents are being urged to show their support for the county town’s threatened bus services by backing a petition.

Operator Damory Coaches announced last week that it would be terminating a number of routes in and around the town and surrounding villages on April 14 saying it could no longer run them on a commercial basis.

The West Dorset Liberal Democrat Group is now launching a petition to put pressure on Dorset County Council to find another operator or come to a new arrangement with the existing operator to preserve the highly valued bus routes.

Members of the group will be setting up a stall outside Starbucks in Dorchester’s South Streets from 10am to 1pm distributing information and urging people to sign the petition.

Dorchester town and district councillor Andy Canning said: “Lots of our councillors have been contacted by lots of people in Dorchester and the surrounding villages who feel they will be cut off if the services are allowed to finish on April 14.”