DARLINGTON Borough Council leader John Williams has denied claims that invalidating free bus travel for pensioners' before 9.30am will affect charities in the town.

Coun Williams, of the Labour executive, was defending the decision, which came into force on April 1 amid much controversy.

Conservative councillors Mike and Gill Cartwright, of Harrowgate Hill ward, renewed their opposition to the new regulation following an application for council funding from the Friends of Darlington Memorial Hospital.

The organisation, which organises transport for patients to and from the hospital, has applied for a grant to cover the additional costs it faces as a result of the new bus pass rule.

Coun Mike Cartwright urged Coun Williams to reconsider the rule.

"This once again demonstrates that the decision to scrap early morning bus travel by Labour leader John Williams was a ridiculous idea," he said.

"It causes real problems for the people of Darlington and could result in loss of support for the voluntary sector, which the council is always encouraging partnership working with."

Coun Williams strenuously denied that the move represented a loss of support for the voluntary sector. He said: "We have dealt with this very effectively and to the satisfaction of the charity involved. There is no issue here. It is pure speculation.

"We invited the Friends of Darlington Memorial Hospital to apply for community grant scheme. I spoke to its chairman, Alan Charlton, and he was happy to apply. We look forward to be able to help them."

Coun Gill Cartwright said other charities were likely to claim, and that this could cost the council through grants to the voluntary sector.

She added: "We have yet to see any evidence that the scrapping of the passes will result in any real financial saving. Other charities and organisations may well follow suit and apply for community grants, in which the case the council will rightly foot the bill anyway.

"I would strongly urge Coun Williams to take this decision back to cabinet for a review."

Coun Williams said he would not be reviewing the scheme. He added: "I'm not aware of any more charities affected, but if there are any out there, I would encourage them to make themselves known and we can then help them accordingly."