A widow fears around 1,000 pensioners in her village will be almost cut off from main towns when some bus services end.

From Monday, Sue Nicholas, 84, and others living in River, a village near Dover, will have limited access to bus routes directly connecting them to nearby towns.

With three routes through the village set to be axed or altered, the changes mean no direct journeys from River to Deal and Folkestone.

Instead, the substitute services, leaving from Lewisham Road terminus, only goes through Dover.

And in addition, the replacement routes will come less frequent.

Mrs Nicholas, a former councillor, fears the reduction in services will create overcrowding, with buses connecting River to Dover coming every half hour instead of the present 20 minutes.

Having delicate balance, she could not stand in a packed bus.

And to reach routes for other towns, it will mean either walking an extra 15 minutes to get to the stop on London Road - or taking the bus from River to Dover first and then changing buses.

And as Mrs Nicholas needs a walking stick, she is unable to walk that far.

Mrs Nicholas told KentOnline: "About 1,000 of the approximate 5,000 population of River are elderly, many in their 80s and 90s.

"To get to Canterbury we have been able to change at Whitfield and this new service now means walking 15 minutes all the way to the main London Road to catch a bus from there.

"I can't even walk for 15 minutes.

"Elderly people now also won't have a direct route to the nearest doctor's surgery at Lydden."

Stagecoach says route 90 (River to Whitfield and Deal), 91 (River to Folkestone) 92 (River to Lydden, and Elvington) and 92A (River to Whitfield and Elvington) are all being substituted if not withdraw.

Instead there will be buses number 64 (River to St Radigund's and Aycliffe) and 64A (Whitfield to River and Aycliffe).

Mrs Nicholas' daughter Louise Pritchard, 56, who grew up in River, has written directly to Matthew Arnold, commercial director at Stagecoach.

She said: "We know the impact of social isolation on the elderly whose worlds already become smaller as older friends and relatives pass on.

"The bus proposals cut elderly residents from River off even more, shrinking further the world around them.

"No direct practical routes from River to Deal, Walmer, Folkestone and Elvington.

"This is asking River elderly non-drivers to bear the brunt of so many cuts."

Mrs Nicholas was a member of River Parish Council from its formation, in 1987, until 1997 and a member of Dover District Council from 1988 until 2015. She was its chairman in the last four years.

A spokesman for Stagecoach told KentOnline: "Reducing services goes against our instinct as a bus operator but post-pandemic ​the number of people using our services, including routes linking River, has reduced significantly.

"As people change the way they travel, we were required by the Department for Transport to alter our network to ensure we are providing a sustainable and commercially viable network to protect our core connections.

"Alongside issues stemming from the pandemic, we face industry-wide problems including driver shortages and increasing operational costs.

"Working​ with Kent County Council, we have had to refocus resources, providing buses to where they are needed most.

"Going forward, we will continue to work closely with the council and aim to grow our network where we can be sure revenue ​will outstrip cost."

Stagecoach have worked a programme of cuts in other parts of the county explaining it is also because of falling passenger numbers.

In April cutbacks were detailed in the Canterbury district with locals complaining that villages would be left without any buses.

Kent County Council in July announced it would withdraw 38 subsidised routes across the country, affecting all bus operators involved, by October.

The authority explained that reduced government funding plus increased cost of compulsory services meant it had to save £2.2 million out of the £6 million it spends annually on voluntarily supporting bus services.