SHOPPERS have been warned that a cancelled bus route to the Metro Centre is unlikely to be restarted.

Last week it was revealed that Stagecoach NorthEast had cancelled its daily X90 service from Darlington to Newcastle and the Metro Centre for financial reasons.

And now Arriva has announced it will not be taking up the route because the company does not think it will be financially viable, despite already running a service which goes past the shopping centre on its way to Newcastle.

A spokesperson for Arriva said: "While we are aware that Stagecoach has made the route available for any bus company to use, we do not believe we can run the service either."

The X90 service will stop operating on Saturday, September 21, and after that the only option for shoppers will be to travel via Newcastle to get to the MetroCentre.

Darlington pensioner Charles Hachwell is one of many who have expressed anger at the decision to stop the service.

He said: "It is ridiculous that people will have to change buses in Newcastle just to get to the MetroCentre. They just won't want to do it, especially after a day of shopping.

"It won't just affect pensioners, but people of all ages who are reliant on the buses."

He continued: "The Government keeps telling us to use public transport but how can we do that if it is not available to us?"