Bus services in Hertfordshire could be "decimated" after county council chiefs proposed to axe more than £1.5 million from the bus budget.

13,000 people signed petitions opposing Hertfordshire County Council’s plans to cut £700,000 from the county’s subsidised bus services and in a consultation, just 30 of the 4,548 responses supported the plans.

But campaigners were left in "total shock" after the Highways and Waste Management Panel on Tuesday agreed to consult the public on plans to cut even deeper than originally planned.

Plans include cutting funding from contracted services after 7.30pm on Monday to Saturdays and axing cash for contracted services that run on a Sunday.

But routes that directly serve hospitals have been protected up to 7.30pm.

Terry Figg, campaigner from Save Our Buses Hertfordshire and 38 Degrees member, said "The sheer scale of public opposition to these unnecessary cuts to vital bus services was made clear on Tuesday.

"More than 13,000 people signed petitions opposing the cuts and of the 4,548 people who responded to the public consultation just 30 were in favour.

"Yet the council ignored the will of the public and are instead pressing ahead with another needless and expensive consultation.

"To announce that they want to then make double the amount of cuts is an insult to the people who rely on bus services in Hertfordshire. We will redouble our efforts to fight these new proposed cuts."

Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the county council said: "It is almost staggering beyond belief that they want to decimate the buses in this way.

"The fact is, they have already made the savings, so I do not understand why they want to do it.

"They want to cut the only means of transport for tens of thousands of residents, whether they need to get to work, hospital, shopping or whether they are just going out. This will leave tens of thousands of people without access to public transport when they need it.

The Watford Observer contacted all seven of the councillors who voted for the changes - but received just one response.

Councillor Derrick Ashley said: "We do have to ensure everything we spend our money on is good value for money. We have to make sure we strike the right balance between what the taxpayer is using and what the consumer is using."

The Tory representative for Hitchin South told the meeting: "There are a lot of figures being banded about, with 809,000 journeys set to be effected. This is two per cent of the passenger journeys.

"I do want to reiterate my assertion that it is very easy to get people to sign petitions.

"If all of the people who have signed these petitions used the services, we would be in a much better position than we are today."

Cllr Giles-Medhurst responded to this, saying: "You can’t ignore the consultation. The consultation was not as it should have been. "However, how many people support what has been proposed. 30.

"You can’t ignore your own consultation.You do not need to make cuts; I cannot see why you are hell bent on penalising bus users."

These proposals will now go to Cabinet, where they will be debated on December 15. If it is approved, the consultation is expected to launch in January.