COMMUTERS who feared their regular bus service from south west Hertfordshire into London would be axed have won a reprieve thanks to a local coach company.

A commuter club was formed by a group of City workers in the 1980's to provide a daily service from Chesham and Amersham, through Chorleywood, Rickmansworth, Croxley Green and Watford to London.

The club was sold to a bus company, which decided at the end of last year that it was no longer profitable enough to run.

The club's former members thought they would be forced to join the crowds on public transport take to their cars until one of their former drivers - now a coach company owner - stepped into the breach.

Mr Trevor Beckwith, of Beckwith Coaches, said: "I used to drive for them when it was a commuter club.

"There are not many of them using it at the moment, so I do not believe it will make money to start with, but hopefully, it will do eventually. I will run it for a year and see how it goes."

The service runs one bus in the morning and one in the evening.

One of the commuters, Miss Sue Baynton, who lives in St Albans Road, Watford, said: "It was very frustrating when the coach company stopped the route because it seems such a good service.

"There is recruitment going on in the West End and with all the trouble with the trains, we cannot understand why it was discontinued.

"The service stopped on December 29 and I rang around about 15 coach companies looking for a replacement before Beckwith's, who must have heard about us, got in touch with me.

"Unfortunately, by that time a lot of the people who used the service before had got yearly railcards.

"So we have gone down to about 15 users and we need between 35 and 40 to make it viable."

The route will stop at The Jenny Wren public house in Chenies Road, Chorleywood; outside Our Lady Help of Christians Roman Catholic Church in Park Road, Rickmansworth; Croxley Metropolitan Station in Rickmansworth Road; The Two Bridges public house in Rickmansworth Road, Croxley Green; on Rickmansworth Road at the junction of Shepherds Lane in Watford; the White Lion public house in St Albans Road, Watford; near Woolworths in St Albans Road, north Watford; near North Watford Library in St Albans Road, north Watford and then on to the M1 and London via Brent Cross.

Anybody interested in the service can contact Mr Beckwith on 01844 274984.