Pensioner found crawling home after Bluestar axe bus route

The 82-year-old was found crawling up the pavement in Netley by fellow resident June Bangs, 81, who said the man told her: “That hill is going to kill me.”

Mrs Bangs said: “I went out to my garden bin and found the poor gentleman on his hands and knees trying to get home.

“I rushed as quick as I could towards him and when I got to him, he looked up at me and said ‘That hill is going to kill me’.

"This bus service is a lifeline for us.”

Eastleigh Borough Council leader, Cllr Keith House and Hamble Valley MP, Paul Holmes, spoke at the meeting (Image: NQ) Family friend Rachel Foulkes, 59, said she was like a daughter to the 82-year-old, and he had asked her to represent him at the meeting.

She said: “He gave up his car two years ago and relies on the bus for everything. He goes on the bus to Co-op, Hamble Square and Woolston.

“He’s so upset and says that Bluestar have tipped his world upside down.

“He can get down to the bus stop on Hound Road but the hill back up on Woolston Road is steep, even for a younger person.  

“I hope that Bluestar listen to what we have to say.”

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Residents met in a meeting as a matter of emergency to discuss the future of the number 15.

The meeting, held on September 14, was also attended by Hamble Valley MP, Paul Holmes and Eastleigh Borough Council leader, Cllr Keith House.

Meeting attendees Angela Humphrey and Rachel Foulkes (Image: NQ) More than 50 residents of Hound, Hamble and Netley made their way to Hound Parish Hall for the meeting.

Some pensioners in attendance were in tears at the fact they may be left stranded without a bus service.

Another attendee, Doreen Salter, 88, said: “This has floored me.

"This will mean we are completely cut off. It is just a tragedy for us older people.”

It was said in the meeting that the stops axed by the company only carried around 20 people per day.

Seventy-year-old Angela Humphrey added: “I have thought to myself before, is this a viable service for a company to run? But it’s a vital service.”

On September 1, Bluestar announced that buses will no longer serve Ingleside or Woolston Road but will instead operate directly between Netley Rail Station and Hound Farm.

The company says this will improve journey time and allows the service to extend beyond city centre to Central Station but has come at the expense of stops on Ingleside and Woolston Road.