HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition for the hospital shuttle bus service to stop in Brierfield.

The 800-signature petition, backed by Pendle Labour leader Coun Mohammed Iqbal and Brierfield councillor Naeem Ashraf, has been handed to Pendle MP Gordon Prentice.

The petition asks for the hospital shuttle bus, which serves the Royal Blackburn Hospital every 20 minutes, to stop at Brierfield, rather than drive through without stopping, as it currently does.

The shuttle bus service, which began last November when Burnley’s A&E service was transferred to Blackburn, stops at Burnley General Hospital’s main entrance (Casterton Avenue), and the Prairie car park (at the junction of Windermere Avenue and Colne Road), before heading back to Blackburn via Burnley General.

Brierfield residents want the bus, which also stops at Pendle Community Hospital twice a day, to stop in Brierfield.

Coun Ashraf said hundreds of residents had contacted him saying they had been forced to catch a bus to Burnley General and get on the shuttle at Casterton Avenue.

He said: “I have had hundreds of people contact me, by email and in person, asking for this service to stop here. This really affects the older and even middle-aged residents and doesn’t make any sense.

“The bus drives through Brierfield, but it doesn’t stop.

“It is a ridiculous decision for it not to stop here.

“It is causing a lot of problems for the people of Brierfield and we are desperate for this.”

Coun Iqbal added: “This is a very important issue and all we are asking, on behalf of the people of Brierfield, is that the bus stops at the main bus stop to allow passengers to get on, and off, instead of the nightmare of going to Burnley, or Nelson, with additional costs and delays in time.”

The petition asks Mr Prentice to raise the issue with the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust.