A partially-sighted woman and her disabled mother are among the Dalry residents to lose out after Shuttle Buses announced it would axe its Number 10 service.

Last week, the Herald reported that SNP Councillor Joy Brahim had started a petition in response to the service being pulled.

Gail O’Brien, who is visually impaired, relies on the service to take her five-year-old daughter Sarah to school. The bus is also a lifeline for Gail’s disabled mum Sally Burke, who is unable to walk the distance to the stops that serve the town’s other services. The Number 10 stops outside Sally’s house and so the loss of the service will mean the end of the 62-year-old’s independence.

Gail said: “As a visually impaired person I rely on the bus to take my daughter to school but not only that I have a disabled mum who walks with a walking frame. If it wasn’t for this bus she would never leave the house. We rely solely on this wee bus. Devastated that we are losing it.

“Somebody sitting at a desk thinks it’s ok because the 25 [Stagecoach] is there but it’s not as simple as that. Where we stay, it [the Number 10] goes through the estate but the 25 doesn’t.

“Every time my mum thinks about it she cries. She will be housebound now. She’s actually looking into moving. But there’s so many other people like my mum.

“I’m registered partially sighted. In this weather if I walk slowly I can go down the town but when it’s icy I can’t.

“I’m also albino – that’s the cause of my eyesight issues. A lot of people say it’s a nice day why don’t you walk? But sometimes it’s too bright for me.

“It’s quite upsetting but it’s more the uncertainty. I feel more for my mum. My mum relies on me a lot so it makes me feel a bit bad because I can’t help her. There’s so many people that are upset.”

The petition is in Dalry Library.