A COUPLE say a bus company's decision to axe the use of low floor vehicles on a route they use has made getting about a nightmare for them.

Rodney and Shirley Walworth, of Bowburn, have struggled since Arriva stopped using the easy access buses for its X1 service between Middlesbrough and Newcastle.

The company had been running the Scania vehicles for some time, but earlier this month, it decided to switch them to another route.

Mrs Walworth and her husband, who uses a power chair, were able to use the service to visit places such as Newcastle and Middlesbrough.

Mrs Walworth said the problem they faced was illustrated when they were waiting for a bus from Durham City bus station to Bowburn, following a trip to Leeds. They waited an hour because five buses they could have caught either had steps or access ramps that were not working.

Mrs Walworth said: "It took my husband and I longer to get home from Durham than it took to get from Leeds to Durham on the train.''

Mrs Walworth complained and was given free tickets - the couple already have pensioner/disabled passes for free travel.

Mrs Walworth said: "What's the point of giving us free tickets if we can't use the buses.''

She added that she was told by the company that under the Disability Discrimination Act it did not need to have easy access buses in service until 2016.

No one from Arriva was available for comment last night.

But the company has previously said it removed the easy access X1 buses because passenger numbers on the route did not justify using them.