CUTS to a bus route taking place later this month will have a "dramatic" effect and would be "morally wrong", councillors have said.

Diamond's 715 service will no longer travel to Wigan on weekdays from January 26, terminating instead in Westhoughton, except for on evenings and Sundays.

The company blamed punctuality problems, saying that fixing the issue would make the route financially unsustainable.

Passengers waiting for the 715 at Bolton Interchange, where the service starts, confirmed that the bus frequently arrives late which drives them "mad".

But Cllr Bernadette Eckersley-Fallon said the changes to the service will leave people in Fourgates and Wingates "isolated".

She said: "They rely on this service greatly. This will leave many residents isolated and unable to carry out their usual day-to-day activities, work and college. I will be arranging to meet the residents who have contacted me regarding the cuts, I will then be looking to discuss this with the executive cabinet member and Transport for Greater Manchester."

Cllr Christine Wild campaigned to save the bus route when it was under threat some years ago.

As well as affecting residents in Wingates, she said that elderly residents of the Summerfield Estate also rely on the service to get into Westhoughton.

She said: "I think it would be morally wrong to leave residents without any means of public transport to get to work or shop in Bolton."

Ex-mayor Arthur Price said the cuts are another blow for residents who have been treated "abysmally".

He said: “I think it’s appalling that there’s been no consultation at all with those residents. They have not thought of the elderly, disabled and children."

Bolton Council's executive for highways and transport, Cllr Stuart Haslam, has called an urgent meeting with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to raise his concerns.

He said: "I'm very concerned about the loss of the service and I've approached TfGM for an urgent meeting to see if anything can be arranged. I have every sympathy for the passengers and I will do all I can to get some alternative provision arranged but I can't promise anything."

Thomas Calderbank, interim commercial manager for Diamond's parent company Rotala, said the decision to "curtail" the route was not taken lightly.

He said: "Unfortunately due to increasing traffic congestion in the area, this has not been possible to maintain without a significant increase in resources, which would make the service unsustainable. We're struggling to maintain a Wigan to Bolton round trip within two hours running time. We know that our customers value punctuality and given rising traffic levels and road infrastructure changes this has become impossible to achieve."

Diamond's revised 574 route will run from Bolton to Leigh via Middlebrook and Westhoughton, with a stop at St John's Avenue in Wingates.

But a spokesman for TfGM confirmed that Dicconson Lane would be left unserved.

TfGM is currently investigating whether the Hindley Local Link can cover this area for local trips only but not to Wigan or Westhoughton.

Stagecoach operates route 7 between Wigan and Bolton, via Westhoughton. Alternative services run between Wingates and Westhoughton, including the 521 which runs from Little Lever to Blackrod via Royal Bolton Hospital.