FREE bus tickets are being delivered in Yate to encourage passengers on board the X27.

The service, from Yate to Bristol via Iron Acton, was axed by First Bus earlier this year but South Gloucestershire Council agreed to subsidise the bus following an outcry within the local community.

Now the authority has launched a Use It or Lose It campaign during a six-month trial of running the bus service in an attempt to make the bus more profitable.

It is giving away 1,000 free return tickets on any part of the X27 route into Bristol.

Part of the awareness campaign saw the council ask residents in Yate, Chipping Sodbury and Frampton Cotterell to complete a survey of their travel habits and those who did will receive the tickets.

Cllr Matthew Riddle (Con, Severn) who helped broker the deal to fund the X27, said: "Providing these free tickets is a positive way to increase the usage of the X27 service, particularly amongst those residents who may never have considered taking the X27 bus before. I hope they go on to support the service in the longer term.

"Doing as much as we can to build up bus patronage makes it easier to secure a long-term solution, which is of concern to a great number of local residents who depend on the service."