TRAIN users across west Wiltshire are appalled by news a direct service to London could be scrapped in December and have vowed to fight the closure.

The Wiltshire Times' Save Our Train campaign, supported by thousands of rail passengers, the West Wilts Rail Users Group and MP Dr Andrew Murrison, was hailed a success in February, when South West Trains managing director Andrew Hains announced the company would take on the threatened service to Waterloo.

The service had come under threat at the beginning of the year when Arriva Trains said it could not keep up the service. South West Trains stepped in with an offer to extend its Salisbury-Waterloo service so it called at west Wiltshire stations. Since May South West Trains has run two trains a day and the new timetable suggested there would be an enhanced four-day service from December.

Now the service from Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge and Warminster to Waterloo faces the axe again, due to ongoing problems with rolling stock from the Strategic Rail Authority.

At a West Wiltshire Rail Users Group meeting on Friday it was announced the service was facing closure on December 12 after the SRA had refused to underwrite the South West Trains service.

Westbury mayor Horace Prickett, who was at the meeting said: "We fought long and hard for nine months and this really is a slap in the face. Having only secured it a few months ago we are now told it's going to be closed."

Bradford mayor Vicky Lan-dell Mills said: "It's absolutely appalling. We shall obviously fight it again as everybody will. We shall resist all efforts to close down the service."

A South West Trains spokesman said: "In May we told the SRA we were happy to take on the service but we would need some new diesel trains some new rolling stock to carry it on past December.

"We hope we can continue with it but logistically at the moment we cannot."

She said the popular service had increased in user numbers and the two-carriage train usually had up to 100 passengers by the time it reached Salisbury.

Dr Murrison said: "The service is profitable and South West Trains wants to operate it but the government is reneging on its previous support and on its pledge to get people off the roads and into public transport.

"I've sent the responsible minister, Tony McNulty, an urgent request for a meeting to discuss the terrible news. How can the government possibly expect to reduce congestion on our roads by shutting down well-used services like this?"

Reg Dodson, chairman of the West Wiltshire Rail Users Group, said: "After a year of campaigning for it the new service is proving a great success. Economically South West Trains are very happy with the way it is going. The timetable is there. The train pathways are worked out. Staff are trained and the trains are running. So what on earth are the Strategic Rail Authority and the government doing?"

He has written to the Transport Minister demanding the government and the SRA support the service.

Despite repeated attempts to contact the SRA this week, no-one was available to comment.