Half a million pounds could be taken from Norfolk County Council's coffers to keep transport for some of the county's most vulnerable people running, amid rising fuel costs.

Some operators which provide transport for adult social care and children's services, including taxis, minibuses and buses, had warned they might have to hand back contracts they have with County Hall.

The council has contracts for hundreds of routes, including to get children with disabilities from their homes to school and to transport people with social care needs to services.

But some providers said rising fuel costs - exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine - ran the risk of making the services unsustainable.

So the council has stepped in to pay providers more, as a temporary measure - based upon the weekly fuel price at the end of the preceding month compared to the fuel price at the start of 2022, capped at 14pc.

A council report states: "Given the correspondence received to date from operators, there is a significant and real risk that if costs continue to rise in the way they have over recent months, they could either go out of business or hand back contracts.

"In either situation we would need to reprocure services, which would be highly disruptive for pupils, especially for those with special educational needs where routine and consistency is a key consideration."

The council said it would also be likely to lead to higher contract costs - with operators putting in prices with the view fuel prices would continue to rise.

John Fisher, the council's cabinet member for children's services, used delegated powers to agree to a measure, which would see up to £500,000 paid to transport providers over the next six months.

The idea is the capped support for up to six months will allow the market to settle.

It is only payable while fuel prices remain above 150p per litre for unleaded petrol.

The council says some of the money can be taken from the children's services Transport Equalisation Reserve and, if more is needed, it will have to come from other risk reserves.

Earlier this month, the EDP launched its Your Money Matters campaign, to highlight the impact of increased financial pressures in the county.