Concern over loss of Dunkeswell bus service

A SCRAPPED bus service, which provided Dunkeswell residents with an important link to Honiton, is being mourned by villagers who can t drive.

A SCRAPPED bus service, which provided Dunkeswell residents with an important link to Honiton, is being mourned by villagers who can't drive.

Widow Margaret Higgins, 80, says the loss of the bus will affect her ability to attend appointments.

Early morning and evening stops in the village have been withdrawn, because of a lack of passengers.

"I am absolutely stuck," said Mrs Higgins. "We only had five buses a day. I used to rely on the evening service to get a train from Honiton to London."

Mrs Higgins and her late husband retired to Dunkeswell from London nearly 20 years ago. Her husband was the car driver and she only realised how isolated she was in Dunkeswell when her husband was hospitalised, she told the Herald.

"There are no buses on Sundays or Bank Holidays so, when he was in hospital, I used to stay in hotels," she said.

Mrs Higgins believes more thought should have gone into public transport when Dunkeswell was expanding.