RESIDENTS on the route of a free weekly shopper bus service to a local supermarket have expressed their anger that this service is finishing.

They were told the Group Travel Asda Bodmin shopper service, which picks up at Polyphant, Lewannick, Plusha and Five Lanes on Tuesday mornings, will finish on Tuesday, July 3.

The shopper service also runs 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 Post understands all these services, which have been running through a private contract for 20 years, will cease after July 6 on the decision of Asda.

One of the residents who uses the Tuesday service, Rachel Cole, said: “We the Asda customers have started a campaign to try and save our free shoppers’ bus. They obviously don’t realise there are still a lot of people who don’t drive or have the internet, or in our case, no direct service bus from Launceston through the villages to Bodmin, 20 miles away down the A30.

“We do rely on this bus. It’s important to us to be able to get out and about and keep our independence. Don’t forget, we live in rural Cornwall. They say it’s no longer viable — or is it because their 20-year contract to supply a free bus is already up?

“If you feel as strongly about this as we do, then don’t sit back and wait — get involved now by writing to the Asda store managers.”

Rachel has put together a petition and is gathering signatures. She will then send that and residents’ letters of complaint to a managing director of the supermarket, based in West Yorkshire.

An Asda spokesperson said: “Regular monitoring over the past few months has shown consistent low use of this service, which is why we have made the decision to cancel it with effect from July 9. We appreciate this will be disappointing to the small number of users.”