Councillors have approved cuts to 20 per cent of County Durham's bus network to claw back rising costs despite concern about the impact on deprived communities.

The Labour-run council's cabinet has agreed to cancel ten subsidised services and implement reductions to more than 60 others, mostly at night and at weekends.

The council had budgeted £3.5m to pay operators such as Arriva and the Go-Ahead Group to run services that would not otherwise be provided as they are unprofitable.

But acting director of environment Alan Miller told councillors yesterday that a big rise in costs - particularly fuel - coupled with falling passenger numbers meant the council could spend £700,000 more than planned if action was not taken.

He said funding the over-run would mean other services in the environment department being cut or the council having to dip into reserves. He also warned that unless the cuts _ whose social impact had been considered - were made the council could face having to make even more reductions to subsidised bus services next year.

Paul Stradling, councillor for Horden, questioned why the council had not considered the possibility of asking for funding from other bodies and organisations to keep services running in deprived areas so that people could go to work and get to clinics and hospitals.

Gordon Tennant, councillor for Peterlee Dene, said the council should consider a Hopper service similar to one that used to run in Peterlee but cabinet member Brian Walker said a similar scheme linking the Lumley area to Durham had to be axed because too few people used it. Easington Councillor Alan Barker said the council had to do better to help deprived communities. "If people are losing these services it isn't a nice situation.

"We are failing the people of the council because as a council we are not able to sustain these communities.

"We have to do better so that next year we don't say there have to be more reductions.''

The cuts are due to be implemented at the end of January, start of February and the council says residents will be informed of cuts in their area. The cuts include cancelling the 720 Durham-Stanley service on Sundays, the 55 between Cassop and Durham on evenings and Sundays, the 974 Bishop Auckland to Merrington Lane Industrial Estate works service, the 21 Chester-le-Street -Sacriston service on evenings and Sundays and the 232 between Peterlee and the Horden Hall Estate on evenings and Sundays. The 730 between between Chester-le-Street and Urpeth Grange/Birtley would be axed completely.

The 236 service between Durham and Middlesbrough would no longer run to Teesside but stop at Sedgefield on evenings under the proposals and the 709 between Newcastle and Stanley would be cut back to a minimal service on evenings from Monday to Thursday.