The trentbarton-operated Mini Sprinter Lynx –– which runs between Kirkby Community Hospital and King's Mill Hospital –– and the Lynx 2, between Kirkby and Mansfield, were due to be permanently withdrawn on 1st September.

Residents living along Searby Road and Sotherby Avenue, Sutton, which is served by the routes, had feared being left with expensive taxi fares and troublesome long walks.

But Nottinghamshire County Council has now stepped in to provide funding to keep the service running.

Sutton county councillor Steve Carroll said the subsidy was great news for residents and told Chad: "The county council has worked well with the bus company to ensure that this vital route is saved.

"It is great news for the people on this street who would have had to pay for taxis. I am chuffed to bits with this announcement."

A Searby Road residents' spokesman has also welcomed the news and paid tribute to Coun Carroll for his help.

"We would like to thank Mr Carroll for his efforts, he is a good guy who has done a very good job," said the spokesman.

"It would have been a devastating blow to lose the service permanently and left many elderly residents in a difficult."