WINSFORD, home to approximately 30,000 people. Well-known for its salt mines and its Foodcraft takeaway.

However, it is getting more and more renowned for its appalling transport service.

CWAC's latest budget cuts has seen the local transport budget slashed. Arriva, the main bus operator in the area, has been forced yet again to cut service and raise prices in the surrounding areas.

With a price rise earlier on in the year that put adult day riders to £5.20 and single one-mile trips to £2.20, with a positive of weekly tickets going down in price, Arriva has been forced to cut services yet again.

The latest service cuts now show that there is only one bus an hour on most routes. The 29 from Grange to Northwich is affected by this and it is commonly used by pensioners, and families with children and prams. This has made travelling anywhere on a Saturday nearly impossible, especially when residents need the service to do their weekend shopping. A young mother of two going to Northwich infirmary was forced to pay £20 for a taxi because an Arriva bus was overcrowded and she couldn’t wait another hour, otherwise her children would have been late to the appointment.

Not only are the buses overcrowded, but they are unreliable, with many buses suffering from loud noisy engines to cold and uncomfortable. Many of these buses seem unfit for service, but what can we do, as CWAC is determined to make Winsford the poverty capital of not just the north west but the whole of England.

There have been many reports of cases like this where the disabled and vulnerable have had to lose out on already tight money because of these cuts.

Why is it always the poor and vulnerable have to be worse off? Every year, the transport service is cut and prices rise.

How long will it be until Winsford becomes completely cut off from the rest of Cheshire?

Not that long as it turns out, as many businesses have also suffered from the recent cuts.

Many shops are suffering from the decline in people travelling from Middlewich, Crewe and Northwich because of these services. Some affected so badly they have had to shut down.

Aaron Farley