A call has been made for more internal buses in one rural market town, after a hip patient was left stranded at the wrong end of town.

Councillors at Machynlleth Town Council have called to reinstate an internal bus route within the town, which was cut in 2018, and for the promotion of the services that still exist.

It comes after a passionate letter was sent to Cllr Gareth Jones, highlighting the plight of the elderly and disabled who live in the further reaches of the town, who are not able to access the shops, hospital or pharmacies without the help of neighbours or taxis.

The letter, written by former mayor Anthony Jones, shared his issues getting home from a cancelled Bronglais hip surgery: “I got off the bus at the chemist [in Machynlleth] and that’s where the problem started.

“How do I get home [to the other end of town]?

“The family were all working, the taxi wasn’t answering.”

He described watching the Lloyds Coaches flexi-bus service arriving from surrounding villages whilst sitting by the “clocktower in the cold for a long while”, adding: “The only people struggling to come to the shops are the elderly and disabled living in the town.

“Could you look into this before the disabled and elderly become hermits and prisoners in their own homes?”

Lloyds Coaches responded to the councillor’s query that there was a bookable flexi-bus service, the FF2, to take passengers across the town, whilst the 36 serves stops through the town up to nine times a day.

Councillor Jones resolved to write to Powys County Council to advertise these services and extend their reach to unserved streets.

Book the Flexi service on 0300 2 340 300 or via the app - https://tfw.wales/fflecsi