ABUSE by drunken teenagers of the Wigglybus service has resulted in one of the Friday night runs being dropped.

Drivers have been sworn at and some of the young passengers heading home after a night out in Pewsey have been sick on the bus, said Wigglybus manager Tim Reynolds.

Mr Reynolds said drivers were refusing to drive the late night bus from Pewsey to the Collingbournes, Grafton, Burbage and the Trenchard Lines at Upavon.

Two Wigglybuses have been providing a 10pm service on Fridays from Pewsey, one to the east part of the district that has been axed and one to the west, to villages including Beechingstoke and Alton Barnes which is being kept under review.

Mr Reynolds said the late evening service was provided largely at the request of young people who wanted to get into Pewsey ostensibly to go the Shak youth club.

Police sergeant John Coppen, the Pewsey area commander, said recently that it was clear the bus services were being abused by teenagers who had no intention of going to the Shak.

There has been a growing problem of late night vandalism in the centre of the village, which Sgt Coppen said could not always be attributed to local teenagers.

Sgt Coppen said police were aware young people were travelling into Pewsey with no intention of attending the youth club and were hanging about the streets instead.

Off-licences in the village have been given strict warnings by the police about selling alcohol to the under 18s or to older teenagers if they believed it would be supplied to under-age drinkers.

Parish councillors have expressed concern at regular outbreaks of vandalism to the bowls club and tennis club. In her police report to the parish council meeting on January 13, WPC Michelle Haley said incidents had included an iron stake being driven into the bowls green and a security light sensor being vandalised.

Mr Reynolds said the evening services from Monday to Thursday to and from the Shak had been trouble free and were being continued.

Problems appear to be concentrated on the bus taking young people home to the east of the district, he said.