CORFE Mullen residents who felt they were being left without transport after bus services were cut have been given a helping hand.

Dorset County Council has arranged for Nordcat to introduce a new bus service linking Corfe Mullen with both Wimborne and a connecting service from Broadstone to Bournemouth.

They will also revise service 88, the Wimborne-Colehill circular.

Corfe Mullen villagers were angry after bus companies withdrew several services in quick succession from the village since 2006.

The hourly service to Wimborne was cut, leaving a solitary shopping journey on weekdays and nothing at weekends.

Services to Poole were also reduced and then villagers heard they were to lose all its services to Bournemouth.

Anxious to help people to get to work in Bournemouth, Dorset County Council has arranged for NORDCAT to provide a connecting service in Broadstone with Yellow Buses service 18.

The new route 33 will operate from Monday as part of the county council's Door To Dorset brand from Wimborne to Broadstone via Corfe Mullen to make the Bournemouth connections.

It will also provide work-time journeys into Wimborne.

In the longer term, the council also expects to provide a service into Wimborne during the day.

Nordcat is also revising the service 88 Wimborne-Colehill circular from October 29, with some changes from its previous route.

Following representations by the East Dorset Transport Action Group, every other bus on the service will operate via Stone Lane for the Walford Mill surgery rather than via the Leigh Park estate.

On Saturday afternoons the service will be extended to Castlepoint and Bournemouth Hospital, picking up in Ferndown and Hurn.

David Dawkins, heads of the council's passenger transport department, said: "The council is grateful to Nordcat for stepping in and assisting both us and the local community."