BUS bosses have backed down and reinstated an axed stop in Brushford following pressure from Somerset County Council.

The county authority stepped in after villagers said they had been left stranded when the Buses of Somerset tweaked the route of Service 25.

The village had been served by 12 buses a day until the bus firm changed the return journey from Taunton to Dulverton and cut out the Brushford stop.

That meant residents had to travel to nearby Dulverton via either Taunton or Bampton.

The Buses of Somerset said the change was vital to ensure the punctuality of the service.

But from August 9, Brushford will be back on the bus map, with Service 25 once again stopping in the village on both the outbound and return journeys.

The firm said other modifications had to be made to the timetable to accommodate the additional stop.

A spokesman said: “At the instruction of Somerset County Council, the route between Exebridge and Dulverton is being altered to run via Brushford in both directions.

“The services will once again terminate at Barns Close, Dulverton.

“To accommodate this route change and the extra time needed, the service between Wiveliscombe and Dulverton will reduce from hourly to two hourly.

“However, the service between Taunton and Wiveliscombe will stay as hourly with the alternate journeys extended to terminate at Langley Corner.”

In all, three services in West Somerset are affected by the bus firm’s revised timetables.

As well as Service 25 from Dulverton to Taunton, changes are also being made to Service 28 between Minehead and Taunton and Service 14 from Watchet to Bridgwater.

The Service 28 revisions include an afternoon departure from Richard Huish College in Taunton during term time.

The company said most of the changes were only “slight” alterations to departure times and were designed to improve efficiency.

Alex Carter, First South West managing director, said: “We are constantly reviewing our Somerset services and wherever possible, we try to enhance journeys to meet the needs of customers.

“The revisions we have made this time will further improve services where we have encountered issues with delays and others have been to tailor journeys to better suit the requirements of our customers.

“Working with Somerset County Council to make revisions to Service 25 is just one of the ways where we work closely with the local authority ensure that the public transport network is developed to meet the needs of our customers.”

More information about the new timetables is available under the news section of the website www.busesofsomerset.co.uk.