A NIGHT bus has been axed as the cost of subsidising the service reached £50 per passenger because take-up was so low.

The Cam and Dursley Night Bus had previously been a big success in a pilot scheme run by Stroud District Council in July 2007.

However, when the funding ran out the service was axed and the public were left disappointed.

In response Cam Parish Council and Dursley Town Council decided to work together to run and fund the night bus, which started again in September last year and ran on Friday evenings between Dursley and Stroud.

Just seven months later take-up has been so poor that the councils have had to end the service.

Cam parish clerk Sue Hanman, who helped co-ordinate the service, said: "It has sadly been necessary to end the service as passenger numbers were just not high enough to support it.

"Despite publicity the small number of users has meant that that the service has had to be subsidised at a cost of up to approximately £50 per passenger, which is clearly not sustainable."