THE shock closure of a bus company because of financial difficulties has hit services in the Wellington area – and caused problems for a village club for the elderly which has lost £350 it paid for a coach trip planned next month.

The family-run Webber Bus stopped trading on Thursday only five months after it announced it was opening a new depot at Rylands Business Park, Rockwell Green, creating 16 new driving jobs.

The closure of the Bridgwater-based firm, which had been in business more than 50 years and which was the second largest operator in Somerset with services across the county, means the loss of about 100 jobs.

West Buckland Friendship Club chairman Dennis Cottle said the closure had come ’like a bolt out of the blue’. He had paid the company £350 for a coach trip to Exmouth and when he heard of the closure he rushed into his bank to cancel the cheque only to be told it had been cashed a couple of days before. He was unhappy as he felt the company must have been aware of its money problems at the time.

He was hoping to arrange to hire a coach from another company as many elderly local people had been looking forward to the excursion, which included a trip and meal on a boat from Exmouth to Exeter. It was one of the highlights of their year. Fortunately the club had received a cheque for £250 recently from local county councillor Ross Henley from his community fund. Webbers had provided the club with excellent service in the past.

Somerset County Council said late on Thursday afternoon it was asking other bus companies to take on routes covered by Webber Bus, which included six schools, four colleges and more than a dozen public routes.

Cllr David Fothergill said: “The other bus operators have been tremendous and have stepped in to pick up all the routes, and particularly the school routes, so people shouldn’t notice the difference other than slight differences in timetabling.”

Bus driver John Harmon said: “I was driving the bus and they sent us a message on the Ticketer and it said ’deposit all your passengers as soon as possible and drive the bus back to the depot’. We have had a letter telling us the company has gone into liquidation.”

Bus users in Wellington praised the service provided by Webbers. Diana Land, 77, of Bagley Road, Rockwell Green, said: “I’m devastated. It’s been a lifeline for me. It’s been a fantastic service and I think the whole town is going to miss it terribly. The bus was just there when I wanted it and it was normally very well used. I am concerned that bus services will be less frequent in future.”

She also praised the company’s drivers. “I would say that 99 per cent of them were excellent,” she said. “They were so helpful – they went the extra step. I think that’s why we all liked using Webbers buses.”

She added: “I don’t drive and my closest friend has been in Musgrove Hospital and I have been able to go in every day on the bus from here. A lot of my friends don’t drive into Musgrove – the parking fees are quite high. They were being dropped off at the hospital door by Webbers with a bus about every 20 minutes.”

Jenny Peggram, of Popes Lane, Rockwell Green, who used the 15 service most days to Bradford-on-Tone and Taunton, said: “There were a lot of buses and they weren’t too crowded. They were clean and most of the drivers were really good. They had a good text service, so if there wasn’t a bus you could text them and they would get back to you and tell you where the bus was. It was a really good service.”

Wellington councillor Andrew Govier said: “This is very bad news for all the employees of the firm and for the people in Wellington who use public transport. Webbers provided a very good service, particularly by serving Musgrove Park Hospital.

"The lack of competition on this route has in the past seen higher fares and a reduced service. I am very keen to see what can be done go get reassurances from First that it will not be hiking fares and that it will look at working with the town council to ensure that we get a high quality service that serves the needs of the town.”

Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton Deane, said: “My sympathies go out to all those who jobs are affected by this news. And I realise many users will be affected by this unfortunate announcement.”