VILLAGERS say they have been left stranded after their favourite bus service was axed.

Berinsfield, off the A4074, near Wallingford, is home to 2,500 people, but has no bus serving it following the withdrawal of the Thames Travel T2 service.

In July Thames Travel announced it would will close 13 of its bus routes in Oxfordshire due to subsidy cuts.

Among these was the popular T2, which ran to Templars Square in Cowley, and the 97 service to Didcot and Wallingford.

The T2 was given a brief reprieve, until August 12, but was then axed.

Householders say they are struggling to cope without it, and are now forced to rely on the X39 and X40 services to Oxford, Wallingford and Reading - but they do not go to the Cowley shopping centre.

Jennifer Lee, 74, who lives with husband David, 76, a former Pressed Steel worker and father-of-two, in Wey Road, said: "Unless you have a car you are absolutely stranded. You could get the X39 and X40 but you have to go down to the A4074 to get it.

"Wallingford is quite well served for buses but Berinsfield now has no buses coming onto the estate.

"Some people are elderly, are not able to walk far and do not have a car and now they feel completely stranded.

"More homes are going to be built nearby and we need more buses."

Mr Lee said he approached Thames Travel about the return of the T2 but was told it would not be running for the foreseeable future.

He added: "The X39 is now getting overloaded with passengers in the mornings - we want the T2 back because it went round the estate, even if it only ran every two hours, instead of every hour."

Mr and Mrs Lee do not own a car and their son Christopher sometimes gives them a lift to the shops.

Edna Mayell, 72, who also lives on the estate, said: "I do drive but a lot of people don't.

"No buses come round the village now and older people are stuck.

"People in their 80s and 90s are housebound because they don't want to risk crossing the A4074 to catch the bus to Oxford.

"We could do with a crossing on the A4074 where the bus stops are because some people find it too dangerous.

"The only buses coming round the estate now are the school buses - it is such a shame."

Thames Travel spokesman Andy Morison said: "The T2 service has now finished, after some temporary funding extended its life until August 12.

"While we no longer run a service into Berinsfield itself, our frequent X39/X40 service runs along the main road by the village."

South Oxfordshire District Council leader John Cotton, also ward councillor for Berinsfield, said discussions were taking place with the county council regarding a crossing.

He added that the district council was reviewing axed routes to see if they could be made viable with some funding.