Anglesey: Villagers feel lost as bus stop moved a mile away

One village now only sees one bus a day at around 21:00, with the next closest stop over a mile away

Residents of one village have said they feel "lost" after their local bus stop was effectively moved over a mile away.

Almost all buses to Penmon, Anglesey, stopped following weight restrictions on the Menai Bridge in July, with the bridge subsequently closed to traffic.

The village's only bus now arrives at 21:12 GMT, with all other busses ending at Llangoed, 1.2m (1.9km) away.

Bus operator Arriva said the changes were needed to provide the most "reliable and sustainable" service.

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One resident, Alice Rowe, told BBC Cymru Fyw the bus was a "lifeline" for people in the village who didn't drive.

"If you have an appointment to go to the doctor or the hospital or the dentist, you can't rely on the neighbours every time," she said.

Alice Rowe said residents of the village miss the bus "terribly"

"We're lost without the buses... the clocks are turning and it's getting dark, it isn't a good place to walk," Ms Lowe added.

"They've just stopped it. We miss it terribly."

Margaret Atkinson, who lives in a nearby cottage park for the elderly, said the walk to the nearest bus stop was also dangerous, with barely enough room for two cars to pass each other.

"If there was a pedestrian on the road they would have no chance at all... there's no street light, there's no pavement, it's so dangerous."

Residents have said the walk to the nearest bus stop at Llangoed is narrow, dark and dangerous

Karen Simcox, 63, a chef at Plas Penmon care home, said she now has to walk more than a mile through dark lanes every morning just to get to work.

"I've relied on the bus for nearly eight years," said Ms Simcox, who has to leave her house an hour-and-a-half before her work starts at 08:00.

"I get the bus at around 06:30 in the morning, and then walk... it takes about 20 minutes in the dark.

"I wear reflective clothing so people can see me because I don't want to risk being run over.

"It's not just for me it's for everyone else, next to us we have a series of cottages and they're full of elderly people, and they have to get to Beaumaris to go to the doctors or go shopping."

Plas Penmon care home also said it was struggling to recruit staff due to the lack of public transport link

Arriva said the weight restrictions, which came into force on the Menai Bridge from 25 July, meant services on all the normal routes were not possible.

A spokesperson said: "Since the restrictions came in, our services have been operating significantly late and we have had to make changes to improve the punctuality of our services, with up to eight minutes being added to services in each direction.

"Before the changes came into effect we worked with Anglesey County Council and Transport Wales to understand the impact of the changes and work through a range of possible decisions.

"Although it is not ideal we have had to implement changes which provide the most reliable and sustainable service to the majority of customers who use the service. We will discuss customer feedback with the council and Transport Wales."