A petition has been launched by concerned residents in a bid to save a vital Fenland bus service that is at risk.

The 46 route - which runs between March and Wisbech - could be scrapped despite the announcement that operators Lynx, Sanders Coaches and West Norfolk Community Transport have stepped in to take over routes and services previously run by Stagecoach.

A decision will now be made by transport bosses at Cambridgeshire County Council, who said they would review the section that operates between March to Wisbech.

However, grandmother Ann McGuire, who uses the service regularly, is now hoping to get as many signatures as possible to save the service.

The 78-year-old has set up an online petition and plans to get paper copies sent out to local shops and on the buses.

Mrs McGuire, who has lived in the Fens for nine years, explained: “I think there must be about 200 school children who use it and lots of elderly people who need to get to hospital appointments and the shops.

“When I first heard the news that the service could be lost via the Cambs Times I was disgusted. I thought it was terrible. This is a service that is used by lots of elderly people and when you go through Wisbech St Mary you can hardly get a seat sometimes.

“That is why we need to get people behind this petition and get the word out there that this is a bus we can’t do without.

“It connects people to other areas to be able to travel to get more buses and trains. I use it myself to visit family and friends and to go to the hospital.”

Stagecoach - which runs around 50 vehicles and employs 120 staff -confirmed this week that they would be withdrawing from a number of bus routes in Norfolk.

Their last day of operation will be April 28, but services will continue to run as normal in the interim.

Martin Wilby, chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Environment, Development and Transport committee, said: “Our transport team and local operators have been working hard to make sure that as far as possible the former Stagecoach services continue to run.

“Some services and timetables may differ from now. We’re expecting to have much greater detail on routes and timings over the coming days.”