THREE pensioners have been stranded in Lancaster three times when their return bus to Morecambe failed to turn up.

Betty Hayden, 75, of Westgate, Morecambe, and her two friends regularly travel to Lancaster on a Sunday afternoon to play bingo.

But on three recent occasions the ladies have been forced to take a taxi home when the 40A Stagecoach bus has not picked up from the stop on George Street.

"We've lost faith in going out now," Mrs Hayden told the Citizen. "We don't get out that much anyway because none of us can drive and two of us have got bad arthritis."

Mrs Hayden sent a letter of complaint to the regional director of operations for Stagecoach, David Ashworth, who apologised and promised to forward her complaints on to staff in Lancaster.

She has since received a letter from Trevor Pennington, operations manager at Lancaster, who blamed the problem on the recent closure of the city's bus station although he added that the service does not normally pick up at that stop.

"He said it doesn't pick up at George Street but there's a sign for it at the stop, " said an angry Mrs Hayden. "They say it's because of the bus station closure. They should have got that sorted out before they closed the station."

Enclosed with the letter was a complimentary ticket for a day's unlimited travel... for just one person!

"It's ludicrous -- they know that there was three of us -- I'd have rather had nothing at all," Mrs Hayden said.

She added she was hoping to meet with Mr Pennington to discuss her complaints in person.