A parish council has hit back at county hall's decision to withdraw their subsidy of a well-used bus service.

The number nine bus, which links Braintree to the villages of Great Bardfield, Finchingfield, Wethersfield, Shalford, Panfield and Bocking, ceased its Saturday service in August after Essex County Council withdrew its funding.

The route was one of four to get the chop after a consultation into services around Essex with county hall saying tax payers could no longer subsidise routes which cost more than £5 per trip.

Before the axing of the route, Shalford Parish Council approached Essex County Council, offering to pay the extra amount themselves to maintain the route.

Shalford Parish Councillor Richard Norman said: "We tried our best to save the number nine bus. The council were saying it had gone over the threshold for cost by about 24p

"As a parish council we got together and offered to pay that excess to try and keep the bus going.

"I travelled on the route before it stopped and it was packed. The last bus ran between six and seven in the evening and it was full.

"In some ways it is more viable than the weekday service, a lot of people want to travel to Braintree on the weekends.

"As is the case with these sorts of issues it's always the disadvantaged that suffer."

The money would have from from Shalford Parish Council's council tax precept and members agreed it was a good use of tax payers money, however the council's offer was not taken into consideration.

Mr Norman said: "The figures looked affordable and a good use of the money.

"We also intended asking the other three councils that the number nine passed through to contribute from their precepts, making it even more affordable."

A spokesperson for Essex County Council said: "We consulted in 2016 and 2017 on changes to bus services supported by the taxpayer after it was revealed some services were costing the taxpayer as much as a flight to Lanzarote every time someone used them.

"Withdrawing funding for a bus service is always a last resort. In this case, we would encourage the parish council to approach commercial operators who may be interested in running the service if a demand for the service can be demonstrated."