A CAMPAIGN to bring back a direct bus link between Grange-over-Sands and Westmorland General Hospital has been launched.

It follows an announcement by Stagecoach that it is scrapping the X35 bus which ran directly between the Furness Peninsula to the hospital in Kendal.

It will be replaced with the X6 that will cut out the hospital stop. The change could mean pass-engers living beyond Grange would have to take a number of buses to reach the hospital.

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron launched the campaign after speaking to many disgruntled Grange res-idents. "People using this bus are normally either really unwell or quite elderly," said Mr Farron. "It is unacceptable that they will have to get a bus into K Village and then wait for another bus to take them onto the hospital."

Instead of a direct passage to the hospital, patients will have to catch a bus or buses into Kendal K Village, and then catch Service 41 to the hospital.

Mr Farron described this as a huge inconvenience, especially for unwell or elderly patients.

“There is also a danger that the change could create a limited access period for patients wit-hout personal transport, because before 10am and after 4pm there are few connecting buses from the hospital to Grange, whereas the old route provided roughly hourly transport to and from the hospital to Grange,” he said.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach said "We reviewed passenger data prior to registering the new X6 (replacing the X35) and we found on average 1.4 passenger journeys were being made per day from Grange to Westmorland General Hospital.

“To extend the X6 to the hospital will make the service unreliable as there is not enough time for the driver to complete the run.

“Should an opportunity arise where we may extend one or two journeys to the Westmorland General Hospital then we will certainly investigate that opportunity."