HOSPITAL journeys have more than doubled from Thundersley after transport bosses scrapped services last week, according to a woman who has to regularly take her sick son to appointments.

Kathy Corcoran, 56, previously had a 40-minute journey every time she took her son to Southend Hospital for treatment of his proteus syndrome, a rare condition which causes some of his limbs grow larger as well creating blood clots under his skin.

But since the Number 21 route was scrapped she has had to change buses at Rayleigh, a journey which takes an hour and 40 minutes, including a wait of up to 30 minutes whilst changing services.

Ms Corcoran, who lives with her 28-year-old son Billy in Triton Way, has started a petition calling on First Essex to reverse the timetable change.

She said: “I suffer from a bad back so adding time on to our journeys is not only painful but exhausting. It’s just gut-wrenching to lose this service.

“It something the village needs. I wouldn’t be making such a fuss about it if wasn’t needed. A lot of people are only just getting back to getting on the bus, just because they’ve been through a drop because of the pandemic doesn’t mean to say it’s not needed.”

Because of his condition Billy is unable to drive, while taxis can cost up to £25 in each direction, with his visits varying from weekly to monthly depending on his condition.

Ms Corcoran added: “It is essential we get it back, it’s not something we can do without.

“They take away these services and then moan there’s too much traffic. I don’t have the luxury to jump in a car if I don’t have the bus.”

So far Ms Corcoran has 180 names on her petition, and she will be collecting more in Thundersley village tomorrow.

Garry Nicholass, commercial director at First Essex, said: “Thundersley has a bus service every 15 minutes that is run by another bus operator, and people can connect in either Rayleigh, Southend, or along London Road from Hadleigh to Southend, to other routes to the hospital.

“We have no plans presently to reinstate Route 21, however we will continue to keep the area under review.”