A community transport service is appealing for more volunteer drivers to help the scheme continue.

bact provides transport for people living in Waveney and a large part of south Norfolk who cannot easily access other forms of public transport.

And over the last six months bact has carried out more than 22,000 passenger journeys, taking residents to day centres, medical appointments, shopping and hairdressing trips, and to visit friends and family.

And although the service is open to passengers of all ages, it helps lots of elderly people who would otherwise be isolated and struggle to leave their homes.

bact operates two key services - Dial a Ride, a door to door service using minibuses, and a community car service. Both rely on volunteer drivers and the charity is in urgent need of more helpers for the Waveney area.

Debbie Blowers, manager of bact, said: 'We would love to hear from anyone interested in driving for us: we have the passengers and the vehicles – we just need more drivers.

'Our fantastic volunteers come from all walks of life; what unites them is the desire to help others. Many of our volunteers join us after retiring as it provides them with a new purpose in life.

'Some volunteers drive for us every day of the week whereas others only drive a few hours a month; the arrangement might be on a regular or irregular basis and bact adapts to suit the volunteers.

'If you know someone who might be interested, please tell them about bact.'

Volunteers can either drive their own cars with a mileage allowance of 45p per mile, or drive bact's vehicles, which are adapted to take wheelchairs and carry those needing more assistance.

All volunteers are trained and complete a DBS check.

To help raise awareness of the service bact offers and the need for more helpers, staff, volunteers and trustees spent the day at Morrisons in Beccles on December 20. And as well as speaking to more than 100 people, they also raised £287.65 in donations.

To find out more about volunteering, visit www.bactcommunitytransport.org.uk or call 01986 896896. There is also a registration form for volunteers on the website.