A BUS company has reversed its decision to cut an ‘important’ bus route after a Dorset pensioner offered to pay for the service himself.

As reported, Alan Williams offered to finance First’s X53 Sunday service between Lyme Regis and Weymouth out of his own pocket after it was scrapped over the winter season.

However, the bus operator has now decided to fund the Sunday service.

A spokeswoman for First said: “We’re pleased to say that following recent conversations with Mr Williams that the X53 will be funded by First Wessex throughout this winter.

“We’ll continue to work with Dorset Council, Mr Williams and other local stakeholders to deliver bus services that are needed by the community.

“We fully support Dorset Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, which has been submitted under the government’s National Bus Strategy. We hope it will attract the level of central government support needed to make the improvements to bus services we all want to see.

“We thoroughly commend Mr Williams’ actions in supporting access to public transport for local customers and thank him for his hard work in raising awareness of the funding challenges faced by operators.”

The Bridport pensioner was willing to pay for two full Sunday services from January 23 until March, when the summer timetable is reinstated, but now that cost is being fully covered by First.

Reflecting on the news, the 78-year-old said: “First rang to say they would be funding the service and had cancelled all charges.

“I’m obviously satisfied it is running and would have been more than happy to pay.

“Plenty of people have been using it from youngsters to couples and the elderly.

“It is an important service and without it people without cars could not access places like Chideock and Charmouth.”

First traditionally funds the X53 service except for ten Sundays from January to March when it says there is 'significantly less demand, making the service commercially unviable during this period’.

Thanks to Mr Williams’ intervention the company will now finance the service on those days in what the bus operator describes has ‘been a very unusual situation in Dorset, where they have worked closely with Mr Williams to find a solution to maintain a reduced winter Sunday service that benefits the community’.