BUS bosses have axed a vital Kilwinning to Irvine service in a bid to save cash.

Stagecoach have announced that the long-running Service 27 - which goes through Whitehirst Park, Corsehill and into Irvine - will be withdrawn from July 18.

Critics say the cuts will leave countless Kilwinning passengers stranded without a means to get into Irvine as the 27 is the only bus service that serves Whitehirst Park and Stevenston Road in Kilwinning.

Kilwinning Councillor Joe Cullinane - who campaigned against Stagecoach’s decision to cut the service from every half hour to every hour in 2012 - blasted the decision saying Stagecoach are “a law unto themselves”.

He said: “It would be an understatement to suggest that Stagecoach has a chequered past with the 27 service.”

“Constituents first approached me with these rumours back in November.

“I raised concerns with Stagecoach at that time and was explicitly told that there were no plans to withdraw the 27 service and if that changed they would consult with me before that decision so I could liaise with my constituents.

“I was never consulted. It’s just another example of a company who are law unto themselves and believe they are accountable to no one.”

However, Stagecoach says the service has been axed due to lack of use.

Stagecoach West Scotland Managing Director, Tom Bridge said: “Due to the very low usage of certain journeys across our Ayrshire network we have had to take the difficult decision to withdraw the service 27 and some journeys from our express network.”

“We have seen significant changes in demand for our services across Ayrshire in the past year as a consequence of declining footfall in many town centre shops and the dramatic fall in the cost of motoring.

“Ultimately, we have to tailor our network to reflect demand.

“The service 27 has not covered its costs for some time and we cannot continue to sustain the losses we are incurring on this route.

“It is important that we act now to ensure that our customers in Ayrshire have a sustainable and comprehensive bus network in the future.”

But Councillor Cullinane has vowed to fight the cuts.

He added: “We must fight this cut as it is a vital bus service for many local residents.

“I will be standing with the community to campaign to save the bus service.

“I have started a petition to support these efforts and I hope that local people will support it.”

As well as the 27 being axed other services will also be reduced.

Bosses say from July, express services X34, X36 and X44 will have a revised timetable with some journeys being re-timed or withdrawn.

The X77 Ayr to Glasgow will have revised morning and evening peak journeys and the X77 late night services between 1am and 4am will be withdrawn on Fridays.

The X11 Ardrossan to Irvine will have a revised timetable with some journeys extended to Irvine Rail Station.

From July 17 services 42, 110, 585, 585A, X76B will be subject to minor timetable amendments due to changes in contracts operated by Stagecoach West Scotland on behalf of SPT.