Commuters in Yatton could be forced to walk two miles to catch a bus to work in Bristol because of cutbacks being proposed to the service.

Angry villagers filled a meeting of Yatton Parish Council to voice their concerns about proposals by bus operator First to cut morning services from the village to the city.

The changes would see the 353 service from Weston-super-Mare to Bristol via Yatton cut back, with no buses for three hours during morning peak time. As part of the changes, buses would only pick up at Top Scaur in the village at 6am and then again at 9.55am.

Those wanting to travel to Bristol will have to either get in their cars or walk two miles to the neighbouring village of Congresbury to catch a bus to the city.

First says it is cutting the service because the buses are not well used and not economically viable.

But a survey carried out among users showed between 25 and 30 villagers use the service each morning.

Diane Coupland from Yatton works in Bristol and catches the 7.12am service from Top Scaur to the village.

Mrs Coupland, who works for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The 7.12am bus is a well-used service and it gets me in to Bristol for 8am.

"The changes will mean I either have to get the 6am bus in, use my car or walk to Congresbury to pick up a bus, which is madness when I only live a few minutes' walk away from the bus stop.

"I pay £145 a month for a bus pass and now they are not going to provide the buses – it's a ridiculous situation."

Return journey buses to the village from the city will also change, with buses only leaving Bristol at 4.20pm and then again at 7pm – well outside of normal business hours.

Student Will Webster, 21, is studying at Bristol University and will struggle to get to class because of the cutbacks. He said: "First's motivation for making these cuts is purely economic."

The changes are due to come into force on November 29.

First Bristol, Somerset and Avon managing director, Justin Davies, said: "Where we have seen a fall in the demand for services, we have altered the frequency or routes of buses as appropriate."

Yatton Parish Council agreed to write to First objecting to the cuts and agreed to approach North Somerset Council to see if cash was available to subsidise the service.

Local residents who use the service are being urged to contact the parish council so accurate information about passenger numbers can be ascertained.