Ref. 27065BUS passengers from Melksham will take their protest against a change to the town's service to county hall next week.

A 300-strong petition was handed to Wiltshire County Council after the town's bus operator changed from Frome Minibuses to First in Somerset and Avon.

Campaigners are due to make a formal complaint to officers at a meeting on Wednesday.

Passengers say they were happy with the existing service which had been operating in Melksham for the past four years. Changes to the timetable mean buses now have to travel out of the town to Trowbridge.

Joan Kinder, of Lincoln Green, Melksham, raised the petition because she is worried the extra mileage could affect the service's efficiency.

She said: "I'm angry about it. Roadworks at Trowbridge or floods in Staverton Road will cause delays. We were happy with the old service. The driver knew where everybody got on and off and they were always reliable."

Doreen Hodder, who uses the bus every day, was sad to lose their regular driver but accepts there is little they can do to reverse the decision. A spokesman for the council said: "The new contract has already been awarded to the First bus company. The contract will be monitored to ensure the new contractor operates the service to the same standard."