Elderly and young people in Shrewsbury are being left stranded because some buses are not stopping or going along routes which they are supposed to, it was claimed today.

In one case it has been claimed that a bus failed to stop for a 12-year-old girl who was waiting at a bus stop at about 7pm with no other bus after this time.

Residents on the town’s Coton Hill estate claim that if buses are running late they stick to the main Ellesmere Road missing them out completely and leaving them waiting.

It was also claimed that disabled people are unable to use a bus service to the town’s hospital because the bus used on the route has steps and a bar in the middle of the doorway preventing them from getting their wheelchairs onto the vehicle.

Councillor Dr Maxwell Winchester, who is chairman of Shrewsbury’s bus review group, revealed the concerns after receiving a number of e-mails and letters since it was formed.

The group has been set up to stage a wide-ranging review into Arriva’s bus service covering everything from cleanliness to punctuality.

Councillor Winchester, who is a member of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, said: “I had a letter from a 12-year-old girl who was left at a bus stop. One bus drove past her and there was not another bus after that. This girl was stranded in town at 7pm.

“Because of the traffic problems if a bus is running late they completely skip the Coton Hill estate and go up Ellesmere Road. The estate is full of a lot of elderly people and they are stranded if it goes past them.

“I’d like to resolve this situation. The current services in town are not good enough.”

Keith Myatt, communications manager for Arriva Midlands, said: “We welcome feedback from our customers and they have the option of contacting the customer care team at Leicester.

“We would welcome information about what particular time and day that these journeys are allegedly missing stops so we can carry out a full investigation.”

Of the service that goes near the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital he said: “That service operates on a fairly regular frequency and it’s not just one bus using that route.”

He said the design of the bus and its entrance complied with legislation adding that 66 per cent of Arriva’s buses were of the easy access low floor type, which meant Arriva Midlands was already ahead of a 50 per cent Government target two years before it needs to reach it.

By John Kirk