A FREE weekly shopper bus service to a local supermarket has now ended to the disappointment of residents on the routes.

The Post recently reported on the Group Travel Asda Bodmin shopper service, which picks up at Polyphant, Lewannick, Plusha and Five Lanes on Tuesday mornings. This service finished on July 3.

The shopper service also ran from Delabole, St Teath, St Tudy, St Breward and Blisland on Mondays; Widegates and Looe on alternate Wednesdays; Lerryn and Lostwithiel on Wednesdays; Roche, Bugle and Lanivet, and Dobwalls, St Neot and Cardinham on Thursdays, and from Rock and Wadebridge on Fridays. The final day of service was July 6.

The Post understands all these services, which have been running through a private contract for 20 years, ceased on the decision of Asda.

One of the residents who used the Tuesday service, Rachel Cole, started a campaign to try and save their service. She sent a letter and petition for which she gathered nearly 30 signatures to a managing director of the supermarket in Leeds.

She said: “We have not been successful in saving the Asda bus. My last one was Tuesday [July 3]. I’m absolutely gutted. All the workers were so gutted on Tuesday. They were coming up to us saying ‘is this definitely your last one? Over the years you get to know faces, then names, then you are more like friends than customers’. They have all said it’s a big shame and they are absolutely gutted on our behalf.

“I’ve been told there is an actual service that goes from Launceston to Bodmin if you want to be up with the lark — City Bus run a double decker for Callywith College. It runs early school mornings. You don’t want to be down in Bodmin all day and it only runs in the school term. It won’t go through the little villages.”

A spokesperson for Asda said: “We are aware this decision will be disappointing to the small number of customers that used the service, but regular monitoring showed consistent low use of this service.”