The Forest Of Dean leader said he is sick of the district being pushed around like a "leper island".

Councillor Tim Gwilliam said the Stagecoach cuts to bus services announced yesterday are "savage" and "disproportionate" and will leave many people stranded.

He has torn into the company and Gloucestershire County Council during today's (Friday, October 14) Punchline Business Breakfast Briefers, for allowing so many routes to be withdrawn. From November 20 buses that serve areas including Coleford, Cinderford, Mitcheldean, Lydney and Blaisdon will end.

Cllr Gwilliam said both organisations were to blame and the Forest was the one left to suffer.

He said Stagecoach needs to answer why it has cut these routes when it had a contract to provide them.

"This is a public service. People rely on these services and they should be duty bound to see themselves through to some sort of contract.

"I also want to point a finger at the County Council because it's all very well them throwing their arms up in the air and saying how disgusting this is but we have had this time and time again from Stagecoach and they continually gave Stagecoach the contracts."

Stagecoach and Gloucestershire County Council have both accused each other of being at fault.

Rachel Geliamassi, managing director, Stagecoach West blamed the cuts on "a very difficult set of challenges largely outside our control" and said it is "very disappointed Gloucestershire County Council has effectively tried to wash its hands of its share of responsibility".

Meanwhile Cllr Philip Robinson, cabinet member for Education, Skills and Bus Transport, said he was "hugely disappointed Stagecoach have placed commercial interests over the needs of many of their customers in rural communities"

He said the council had worked with the company for months to avoid the cuts and had reported the company to the Traffic Commissioner. The council said it would be working to find new providers for the routes.

Cllr Gwilliam said people in the Forest would be left struggling to get to work at a time when the district was trying to boost business in the area.

"I'm currently doing a local plan and shouting about how we can bring business to the Forest Of Dean and business is thriving.

"We've helped 16 new businesses start up in the Forest in the last 12 months through giving them business grants. But now we are thinking 'How will people get here? How will people get to work?'"

He said the district council would do what it could to help but he was fed up of the Forest always being targeted for cuts while other areas benefited from cash boosts.

"I'm frankly sick of hearing about money being poured into Cyber Central and the M5 Missing Link improvements," he said.

"People say this is great for Gloucestershire but how are people from the Forest supposed to get up to Cyber Central because they won't improve the roads or rail system for us and now our bus services are going to be taken away from us as well.

"They are starting to take the easy option and it's time politicians like me started saying something. I've been nodding along and I'm really supportive of things for Gloucestershire but we've got to spread the love a little bit .

"I''m sick to death of us being pushed around like a little leper island that is just there to be treated as a visiting place. We're not. We're a vibrant community and we've got vibrant businesses."

He said the Forest would not be in this situation if the council had not switched so many bus contracts over to Stagecoach.

"We used to have a myriad of school bus companies that were serving these routes and the people of the Forest of Dean but one by one they didn't have the contracts renewed because it was easier and cheaper to give them to a bigger company

"Those companies aren't doing it anymore and that's why we're in a position we're in.

He added: "Stagecoach has to make business decisions but they have a lot of questions to answer.

"But so do the county council. They can't just wash their hands of this and say it's terrible. They gave them the contract, they knew what they were dealing with."

Punchline has contacted Stagecoach and Gloucestershire County Council for a response.