Government ministers are being challenged to step in over the rail service between Yate and Bristol.

Northavon MP Steve Webb said he was being inundated with complaints from passengers who repeatedly faced cancellations and overcrowding on the commuter route.

Mr Webb said one recent incident involved the cancellation of one of the two main morning trains, which left more than 100 passengers having to cram onto an already crowded later train.

Other users have told him of trains being so crowded returning to Yate in the early evening that is was not possible to get on at Bristol Temple Meads.

Mr Webb said he and passengers had complained to train operator First Great Western and been told the problems were caused by a shortage of rolling stock.

Although new rolling stock is planned across the rail network, the MP said relatively little had been allocated by ministers to the West.

Mr Webb has now written to new Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon urging him to intervene.

He said: "People are constantly being told to get out of their cars and to use public transport but the standard of public transport for people in our area is sometimes diabolical. It is totally unacceptable that people face cancellations or are being routinely crammed onto trains like cattle. New rolling stock is urgently needed and our services need to be seen by Government as a priority.

"The transport minister needs to realise that passengers are losing patience with this totally unacceptable level of service."

Earlier this year Mr Webb took First Great Western's regional manager Andrew Haines on the Yate-to-Bristol commuter route to see for himself just how crowded the conditions were on the service.

A new group was also set up just last month to press for better facilities for passengers who use Yate station and more carriages to cope with increased use.

The Friends of Yate Station was formed to lobby for improvements at the site and on the trains serving it.

They said as well as overcrowded trains at busy times, there was insufficient shelter on the platform, lack of information and poor bus links to other parts of the town.

With more people living and working in Yate, the Friends said the station's services and facilities had to keep up with higher demand.

The group said many people now travelled by train to work from Yate as it served Bristol, Abbeywood and Gloucester.

There were also many students using the train to get to Filton College.