URGENT safety improvements need to be made to transport services in a Teesside borough, according to a report.

The full report of Stockton Borough Council's environment and regeneration select committee will be published on Thursday.

It will recommend that siting of bus stops adjacent to Stockton's Castlegate Centre and Billingham town centre be reviewed as a matter of urgency.

It will also recommend that the borough's dial-a-ride service be significantly improved and better marketed, that a public transport forum be set up and that bus drivers receive training to help disabled passengers.

The select committee chose public transport as its first in-depth scrutiny issue because of the number of complaints made by people about the service. Members of the public, transport companies and community groups all had an input into the review.

Councillor Norman Teasdale, chairman of the select committee, said: "Public transport plays an important role in our everyday lives and we need to look to the future to ensure public transport is attractive and accessible as possible and available to all who want to use it, if we are to encourage more people to leave their cars at home.

"The review has been interesting and a positive experience for all members of the committee."

The report will be launched by non-driver David Bond, Stockton Council's director of law and democracy, aboard a Stagecoach bus, at Preston Park, in Eaglescliffe, on Tuesday.