DARLINGTON MP Alan Milburn is calling on a bus firm to reinstate a service axed two years ago.

He is asking Stagecoach to reconsider its decision to discontinue the 25A service which ran through the Branksome area of town.

The service used to run on clockwise and anti-clockwise circular routes through Branksome, but the service was reduced to running in a single direction only by the company.

Members of Branksome Residents' Association have already handed Mr Milburn a 300-name petition calling for the service to resume.

Sam Buckle, chairman of the association, said: "The thing is, it's the elderly that suffer.

"They relied on this service, because it meant they could get on the bus to the shops in Whitby Way, and then get the bus that ran in the opposite direction back home again.

"But now they have to travel through town to get there."

As well as gaining support from Mr Milburn, the residents have received a letter from Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has passed their concerns about the service on to the Department for Transport.

They have also won the backing of North-East MEP Stephen Hughes.

Mr Milburn said he has already written to Stagecoach asking for the service to be reinstated but said the company told him that it was changed simply because not enough people were using it.

"There seems to be a huge strength of feeling on this and we need to get this service back for the residents," he said. "They say it's affecting their quality of life."

He is suggesting a public meeting be held to get residents and representatives from Stagecoach together to try to find a solution.

Mr Buckle said: "A lot of people who live around here are in their 70s, 80s and 90s and are now struggling with the bus service."

No one at Stagecoach was available for comment yesterday.

But, speaking in May, James Mellor, the company's divisional traffic officer, said the service was changed because the majority of passengers were travelling to the hospital or town centre.

"It seemed sensible to have all the buses running on one side of the road for ease of the customer," he said.