Oxfordshire County Council has stepped in to ensure villagers in Kidlington were not left stranded after a bus company cut back services.

Last month, people living in the north of the village were shocked to learn the Oxford Bus Company was withdrawing part of its daily 2A Kidlington to Oxford service from April 4.

The cuts meant that the service, which ran every 15 minutes, would no longer serve parts of Banbury Road, Oxford Spires Business Park, Langford Lane and Oxford Airport between 9.30am and 4.30pm.

Villagers launched a campaign against the cuts.

Petitions opposing the move were signed by hundreds of householders and people working at the business park.

The county council has since stepped in to pay for journeys to continue between the village centre and the business park and airport.

The subsidised 2D route, also operated by the Oxford Bus Company, runs every half hour during the week in off-peak times and at weekends, and on an hourly basis every evening.

Allan Field, county council bus services manager, said: "That will run until the end of November to give us a chance to fully review the services in terms of a long-term solution. That is county council policy."

Wendy Scanlon, who lives on a canal boat moored off Langford Lane, started the campaign opposing the cuts. She was pleased at the council-backed service, but said she would hold on to the petitions until the route was reviewed again in the autumn.

At the time, the Oxford Bus Company said changes to its route 2 and 22 services in the Kidlington and Headington areas were designed to make services more reliable, and that only 25 to 35 people were using the 2A buses between 9.30am and 4.30pm.

Mrs Scanlon said she conducted a survey between 11.30am and 3.30pm on Banbury Road towards the airport, which revealed between 80 to 100 people were using the service in both directions.