Thousands of St Albans residents could be left stranded if plans to take an axe to bus funding in Hertfordshire go ahead.

Dozens of routes are under threat as county politicians look to cut £700,000 from the subsidies that support bus services in the county.

In St Albans eight routes could be affected, including the UNO bus which runs from the New Green estate to Welwyn Garden City.

Labour councillors warned the cuts would hit the elderly and vulnerable people without cars the hardest.

Councillor Roma Mills said she has been approached by concerned residents who fear they may not be able to get into the city. 

She said: "If the cuts go ahead some people will not be able to leave their home which would be awful, especially for the elderly some of whom may not be able to get around.

"Also if people go out in the evening they will be faced with getting a taxi home, which may not be affordable.

"I do appreciate the some of the buses are not used that often but the people that do use them have no alternatives. 

"In addition, the city is already congested and as a community we should be encouraging people to use public transport and this goes against that. It is most unfortunate."

The move will see funding withdrawn from 52 of Hertfordshire’s 119 routes services which run after 6.30pm, Monday to Saturday and services which run on Sundays.

The proposal has been driven by the reduction in central government grant which means the county council has to find savings of £147m over the next four years - on top of the £149m cuts which have already been made since 2010.

Stephen Giles-Medhurst, the county’s Liberal Democrat group leader, said that funding for bus services have already been significantly reduced.

He said: "There will be a lot of people who probably don’t have the financial means or private transport to get around. 

"They will be the ones most seriously affected by this and they will effectively be isolated."

Councillor Giles-Medhurst said that the "blanket size fits all" method should be scrapped and instead the council should look at route by route savings.

The county county’s Conservative cabinet member for highways, Terry Douris, defended the plans and said he’d rather refer to the possible decrease in funding as "savings" rather than "cuts".

Councillor Douris said the plans will not affect the buses where there is a significant demand, but rather the "savings" will reduce services where there are only one or two people on the bus.

To comment on the council’s consultation, which runs until October 8, visit www.hertsdirect.org/busconsult.