The leader of Devon County Council has demanded £5 million from the Government as the authority is being short-changed on funding free bus travel.

Councillor John Hart, Conservative leader of the council, was among a delegation to yesterday press the case for a cash bailout at Downing Street.

The visit to Number 10 was part of the national “Fair Fares” campaign involving areas where cut-price bus travel has been massively over-subscribed.

Devon has been left with a £5 million shortfall on the so-called “concessionary” scheme, which represents the difference between operating costs and a Whitehall grant to pay for it.

A national petition, launched by Norfolk County Council, was delivered to Downing Street along with a formal request for a special grant to cover the unfunded costs.

Mr Hart warned that other council-funded services are at risk if authorities are forced

to fill the gap with their own resources, despite it being a nationally funded scheme.

He said: “Our representations have been echoed by authorities across the country and this is an issue that won’t go away.”

Bus services relied on by pensioners, workers and students have already been axed across the region, principally as almost half of bus operating revenue comes from public funding. Cuts to council grants, scrapping the ring-fence on a rural bus subsidy and changes to funding for free bus passes have hit hard. A 20 per cent reduction in grants paid directly to firms start to bite until this April.

Under the Government’s concessionary bus scheme,

eligible older and disabled people are entitled to free off-peak travel.

But it is the popularity among pensioners that has caused a headache for councils, particularly in areas attracting tourists.

Cornwall also faces a funding crisis on the buses and the council has asked the Government whether it can charge free bus pass holders 50 pence a journey.

Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said: “We have protected the concessionary travel scheme for older and disabled people and the Department for Communities and Local Government is currently considering whether the funding can be distributed more fairly.

“The Government accepts that the overall funding settlement for local authorities is challenging.

“It’s good to see some councils are approaching this imaginatively, finding savings in procurement and back-room staff, rather than just reaching for the axe and cutting front-line services.”