CONCERNS have been raised about a lack of bus services in Flintshire.

Broughton Councillor Klaus Armstrong-Braun told the Leader he had been made aware a number of Welsh Arriva services had been reduced due to drivers remaining in furlough, despite the company having increased services over the border in England.

"It is a worry to the people of Broughton who want to get around," he said.

"We have very few buses around here and even the service we do have has been reduced. It's appalling."

Arriva Buses Wales confirmed many of its drivers are still on furlough and according to the company Wales is now the only country in the United Kingdom that has not agreed funding for transport operators to begin to “ramp up” services to cover costs for additional services.

Describing the situation, a spokesman said: "Unlike in England, we have not yet had agreement from the Welsh to support the increase of our services in the region through funding.

"Therefore, not being able to increase services has meant we have been unable to return from furlough our entire driver population.

"Across the border, in England, services have already been increased to around 85-90 per cent of pre-COVID19 levels and Arriva buses are running more frequently.

"This is unfortunately not possible in Wales, due to above highlighted issues.

"As well as this, Arriva Wales continues to practice safe social distancing on board meaning we are only able to carry 50 per cent of a bus’s passenger capacity at this time.

"We continue to closely monitor the ongoing COVID19 crisis in Wales and are committed to working with CPT (Confederation of Passenger Transport) and Welsh Government in order to deliver safe and reliable services for our customers."

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We announced last week our next round of funding to support the bus industry and we are looking to making further announcements in the future on how Welsh Government, local authorities and the bus companies can work together to recover from the impact of coronavirus.”