RESIDENTS on a Barry housing estate have said they are left "trapped" by the limited bus service operating in their area, which stops before 2pm every weekday.

People in Highlight Park argue that Cardiff Bus' '98' service scheduling is currently insufficient and are campaigning for the timetable to be broadened.

Ada Flinn, who lives on the estate, said that elderly people in particular were hampered by the current service - which does not run at all on weekends - and were effectively unable to leave the estate.

"Residents who have health problems or are elderly and have no partner, or cannot drive, simply cannot walk half a mile to catch a bus. It would take hours," she said.

Locals are campaigning for the Welsh Government to reverse cuts to the Bus Service Support Grant (BSSG), which saw the service scaled back in 2014. The Government however say that appropriate funding is still made available to local councils to subsidise travel and this has been maintained in recent years.

Cardiff Bus currently operates a near-hourly service between 8.13am and 1.54pm on weekdays, which travels between Highlight Park and either Morrisons supermarket or King Square, however there are no buses run after this time.

Residents recently gathered at the estate’s Lakin Drive bus stop, to protest against the lack of public transport available.

"There are an awful lot of people trapped on the estate," said Ms Flynn.

"Most aged people have health problems and may not even be able to get ready until lunchtime.

"Those who need to travel to the Highlight Park medical centre are left with no choice but to get a taxi there and back, so the issue stretches beyond the Highlight Park residents."

A spokeswoman for Cardiff Bus said that there would be a limited increase in the route's services later this year, but added that the present schedule was appropriate based on its use.

"The current level of service we provide reflects the level of usage on that particular route," she said.

"Our customers will however be able to access a slightly later afternoon journey from September due to planned timetable changes.

"Any extension to the current level of service would require support for us to do so."

Vale MP Alun Cairns and Dyfan ward councillor Leighton Rowlands both emphasised their support for a revision of the timetable, arguing that cuts to the BSSG should be reversed by the Government.

Mr Cairns said it made no sense why a bus service as vital as the 98 was so limited.

"Highlight Park residents who rely on this service have to return from town in the early afternoon, otherwise they are stranded. It simply isn’t fair on those residents," said Mr Cairns.

In a statement issued by the Welsh Government however, a spokesman said that BSSG funding to councils across Wales had been protected in recent budgets, and that it was up to them to decide how to utilise the money available.

Cllr Geoff Cox, speaking on behalf of the Vale council, said: "The council financially supports a number of local bus services that it considers socially necessary, either in part or in full, using both the Council’s own budget for supported services and the Welsh Government’s Bus Services Support Grant.

"In Barry, we already financially support a number of local bus services and also several discretionary school bus services. Our plans for 2017/18 have already been set and agreed recently by cabinet but we would welcome additional funding from WG that would enable us to enhance the Vale’s public transport network further."