A rural bus service is being cut because not enough people use it.

The X59 Banbury/ Oxford service is being reduced from an hourly service to one-and-a-half hour intervals, and a late evening bus is being dropped from the timetable.

But campaigners in Steeple Aston have written to operators Stagecoach, local MP Tony Baldry, and to Oxfordshire County Council complaining about the less frequent service.

A letter from Dr Nancy Weitz says the livelihoods of a 'significant number' of villagers depend on the Banbury to Oxford bus.

She said fares had recently gone up, but Stagecoach had announced that from February 15 the number of buses would be reduced and would in future run at awkward times.

The letter says: "Crucially they are cancelling all buses from Oxford to Banbury after 5.55pm. This has been done under the excuse of improving reliability."

She said: "Many travellers have no other way of making the daily trip to and from work."

Dr Weitz said she moved to Steeple Aston so that she could live in a quiet village and be able to catch a bus to her Oxford University workplace.

She said: "I have effectively been cut off from aspects of my job and my participation in life at the university."

David Whitley, Stagecoach's marketing manager, said the service was little used and the company had to look at alternatives.