A BUS company has introduced an emergency timetable to try to combat service problems in the Wear Valley.

The move by Go North-East comes after complaints from residents in the area about being stranded at bus stops after last-minute cancellation of services.

Natalie Campbell, 34, and Bonita Lamb, 56, both from West Auckland, said that residents had had enough.

Mrs Lamb said: "People are not getting to work on time and when we ring the bus company all they can say is that there are not enough drivers. It has got completely out of hand."

A spokesman for Go North-East said that the company had been experiencing difficulties with services in Bishop Auckland and would be implementing a revised timetable from Saturday.

He said: "We apologise to customers for any inconvenience that has been caused. We have experienced some operational difficulties and are addressing them. We aim to return to a regular timetable as soon as possible."

The services affected are the numbers 82A, 86, 87, 112 and 118, which all follow routes in the Bishop Auckland area.

A spokesman for Durham County Council said that the authority had been made aware of the problems and was working with the company to find a solution.

He said: "We are aware of Go North East's acute difficulties in recruiting bus drivers, and of the problems it is causing to both the company and its passengers.

"Despite its best efforts to remedy the solution by a number of measures, including transferring drivers from other depots, putting supervisors behind the wheel and even subcontracting some services to other operators, those problems persist."

He said that although the emergency timetable would reduce the levels of service, it would increase reliability.

* Go North-East will host a recruitment initiative for drivers, in conjunction with JobCentre Plus, at Gateshead International Stadium on Sunday, from 10am to 2pm.

Passengers should call Traveline on 0870 6082608 for service information.