A cancer patient was left "in tears" at the bus stop after being late to a vital appointment for treatment - because his bus was two hours late.

The pensioner, who was travelling to an appointment for treatment in East Durham, was mentioned by Labour MP Grahame Morris earlier this week.

The MP for Easington has since called on Go North East to "please act now" after the pensioner was significantly late to his appointment.

In a tweet, he said: “Man 2 hours late for cancer treatment. Pensioner crying as can’t use overcrowded once an hour 208 service.

The Northern Echo:

“Passengers' feeling guilty for getting on the 208. Another day on #EastDurham’s failing bus service.”

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Mr Morris later claimed that the North East currently has “the worst public transport network I have seen in my lifetime."

He said: “Safe, frequent, and reliable public transport supports the economy, improves quality of life, and extends opportunity. We currently have the worst public transport network I have seen in my lifetime.

“People cannot rely on the bus to turn up. Trains are overcrowded, delayed or cancelled. At best, this could ruin your day, at worst it can compromise your employment, education or health. When people are making decisions on where to live, they consider public transport.

“If we are to retain talent, skills, and working people in the constituency, they must have confidence that the bus will arrive, or a train will be reliable enough to get them to Newcastle or Sunderland in time for work.”

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Mr Morris argued that he was Tweeting to highlight “the stories of peoples’ struggles, trying to get the attention of someone who cares about the impact these services are having on our daily lives.”

He added: “I am angry. I am sick of hearing about levelling up when we can’t get a bus to turn up. HS2 and faster trains to London are worthless when you can’t get a train the five miles from Seaham or Horden to Sunderland.”

In response, Cathy Knight, Durham County Council’s integrated passenger transport manager, said: “The coronavirus pandemic and driver shortages continue to have a substantial impact on commercial bus services, which we understand has negatively affected passenger experiences.

"Due to these ongoing challenges, we have been working with operators to help sustain commercial services and ensure that alternative provision is in place for residents wherever possible.

“We carry out in-house school and social care transport services, including booking transport services for patients’ health appointments on behalf of the NHS.

"We also have our own Link2 and Access Bus schemes, which can be used by anyone in the county who is unable to access regular bus services for travel including work, training, shopping, and health appointments.

"Details of these services can be found at www.durham.gov.uk/publictransport."

Go North East has been approached.

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