A BUS company boss and an MP have clashed over the planned withdrawal of a service on Teesside.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar is to protest to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling about plans by the Stagecoach Transit company to axe its service linking the outlying communities of Stainton and Coulby Newham with the James Cook University Hospital and Middlesbrough town centre.

Dr Kumar says the episode points to the need for tighter regulation of services, which he claims firms like Stagecoach have the power to de-register "overnight''.

But commercial director Paul De Santis claims Stagecoach told Middlesbrough Council in October of its plans to withdraw the service in January.

Mr De Santis said: "We try not to withdraw services entirely if we can possibly avoid it, but there comes a point where numbers become so low and, after it becomes so expensive to run, we have to make a decision to withdraw it.''

He claimed the withdrawal of the service was in a package of proposed changes which would see more buses running between Hemlington and Coulby Newham, and a more reliable service between the two communities and Middlesbrough.

He said: "We are a local company and we make local decisions and we must be made accountable for what we do to ensure the services in that they are viable and profitable."

Dr Kumar claims Middlesbrough Council is now faced with a choice as to whether it picks up the tab for a substitute subsidised service or be accused of leaving a community high and dry.

He said: "This is a highly unsatisfactory situation and highlights the need for new controls.''

Mr De Santis disagrees, saying the present structure offers both passengers and taxpayers the best value for money.