'POWER to the people'! That is what Redhill residents in Hereford are saying after fighting what they regarded as a 'David and Goliath' style battle and winning after bus company First proposed to stop buses running through their estate.

They staged a protest after talks with First broke down and campaigners gathered at the edge of Redhill on Monday vowing not to let any buses pass until the service was reinstated.

A shake-up within Hereford's public transport system left the people stranded after First took a 'commercial decision' to stop buses running into the heart of Redhill.

Chairman of Redhill Residents Association, Wendy Jones was delighted with the result: "Power to the people! There will now be one bus every half an hour going through the estate between 9.30am and 5pm.

"We were determined that we were going to do it."

Protesters, young and old, stood in front of buses as they stopped at the junction in Marlbrook Road and tempers flared when one bus driver began edging towards people in her path.

Amid the camaraderie of cheers and hooting of horns, things could have turned very nasty, claimed Mrs Jones.

"She (the bus driver) made the situation ridiculous. Actually it was a peaceful protest."

Describing the crowd as an 'abusive mob', spokesperson for First, David Maciejewski said they were 'not prepared to comment on that' and 'safety is paramount to the company'.

"We know there is always room for improvement and safety is one of our top priorities," he continued.

During the protest, Hereford's depot manager, Keith Diaper, appeared in person to calm the situation and appeal to the campaigners to allow the buses to run.

He said he was 'more than optimistic' that some form of public transport would be reinstated but he was waiting for confirmation from First's management.

Mr Maciejewski continued: "We have come to an agreement with the local group. There is new set of services coming in, in a month or so - towards the end of October.

"We agreed we would run an off peak service every half and hour - we are happy to come to a compromise and offer this service in the meantime."