Outraged locals in Swanscombe are calling on a bus provider to "listen to the community" as one route is to be scrapped and services reduced on another.

A petition, which has received 500 signatures, was started after Arriva announced it would be cancelling the 455 bus route and reducing services on the 481 route, both of which go through Swanscombe town centre.

These buses are set to be replaced with new minibus services, the 484, 485 and 485A, which will link Castle Hill to Ebbsfleet International Station and Swanscombe High Street to the Asda in Greenhithe.

However residents from Milton Road, Manor Road and Bodle Avenue will now be left without direct bus services into the high street.

Emma Benmoussa, 30, of Manor Road, said this will severely impact her life as she suffers with rheumatoid arthritis which makes travelling far on foot quite difficult.

"Now I'll have to walk nearly 20 minutes to the George and Dragon if I want to get a bus. I can't get a train because Swanscombe station has no disability access. This will just make things more difficult," she said.

Claire Pearce, 42, who is a member of both the Swanscombe Community Action Group and Swanscombe Labour, believes the elderly and those with disabilities will suffer the most from the loss of these services.

"It’s the only way some people can do their shopping. Swanscombe is quite a big place and these were going through places other buses weren't. It's ridiculous," she said.

Ms Pearce described the new minibus services as "not beneficial at all" for the majority of Swanscombe.

"It's great if you live in Castle Hill and need to get to work, but not if you just need to do your shopping. It cuts Swanscombe out entirely," she said.

Arriva is currently running a public consultation until November 25.

The petition states "we need to make them aware of the damage that will be done to our community by cutting these routes and let them know that they cannot simply cherry pick the most profitable routes, leaving our community isolated.

"We’re basically asking Arriva to listen to the community and reinstate the 455," said Ms Pearce.

Area managing director for Arriva Kent & Surrey, Olivia Monahan said the decision was made based on a review of service usage in the area.

"During our recent review of our networks in north Kent we found a pattern of declining usage on a small part of the network. This was complicated further by increasing congestion, which lengthens the time it takes for buses to complete their routes.

"Withdrawing routes is always a last resort for Arriva and thus we took the decision to tweak the routes to ensure that we kept the same number of buses on the road, while also working to support new routes to meet changes in demand – such as from new houses.

"The changes were made to maintain the maximum level of services possible on what are commercial routes that receive no subsidy," she said.

Responses to the petition are also expected to be shared with Kent County Council.