Pensioners in Tuckswood have voiced concerns about planned changes to a bus route.

The number 17/17A First bus service currently runs through Robin Hood Road and Maid Marian Road on its way to and from the city centre, but after Sunday this will no longer happen.

The number 17/17A will no longer serve South Tuckswood, and while service 18 has been re-routed via Trafford Road and Hall Road to compensate for the change, people in the area say their nearest bus stops will be too far for them to walk to.

Graeme Kingdon, 79, lives in sheltered housing off Robin Hood Road, with his 75-year-old wife, Pamela, who is being treated for bowel cancer. The couple, who both have heart problems, use the number 17 bus at least three times a week.

Mr Kingdon said: 'The bus changes are going to have a very serious impact on us. The alternative offered to us is to get a bus from Ipswich Road or Hall Road, but there is no way we can physically get to these bus stops.'

Mr Kingdon said they would also no longer be able to catch the bus to their doctors' surgery, and would have to take a taxi. He said there were lots of other pensioners also affected by the changes.

Barry Ayers, 72, who lives in Forester Close, previously contacted the Evening News because he was concerned about the bus changes, and city councillor David Fairbairn said he had had complaints from people about the loss of bus services along Robin Hood Road.

'Clearly, elderly people and those who do not run a car, for whatever reason, will feel more and more isolated and left out of things if there is no bus service for them to use,' said Mr Fairbairn.

A First spokesman said: 'The 17 and 18 routes have been combined so nobody is cut off from a bus service, but we are aware some people may have to walk a little bit further to a bus stop.

'Nobody should have to walk any further than a quarter of a mile. We have done everything we can to limit the effects of the changes.'

What do you think about the changes to some of First's bus routes? Email eveningnewsletters@archant.co.uk