A 75-year old woman has said that her ‘lifeline’ has been cut after a bus service was withdrawn from a Suffolk town.

Route 87 – a service which went round Needham Market and then to Ipswich and Stowmarket has been withdrawn.

Jennifer Easlea, of The Causeway, Needham Market, says she will now have to walk half a mile into the town centre to get a bus so she can go to the local doctor’s surgery.

“People use it to go to Ipswich, I know a little old lady who does her little bit of shopping, she’s going to be house-bound,” said Mrs Easlea.

“I take 16 tablets a day to keep going, it would take me half an hour to walk it. It’s disgraceful. I’m thinking of fighting it.”

Kevin Hunter, clerk at Needham Market Town Council said it would be ‘impossible’ for people who were walking back from the town centre with shopping, he said: “Now the only option is to get into the town’s high street. The council reacted with quite a shock when I told them, we’ve had no consultation at all.”

FirstGroup said there had been consultations with Suffolk County Council, a spokesman said: “It is always regrettable when members of the public are affected negatively by changes to bus operations.

“However the overall feedback we have had from customers since the changes took place has been very positive.”