Elderly people are having to pay out hundreds of pounds from their pensions to do their shopping in Chatham because their bus service has been suspended while roadworks are carried out.

Pensioners entitled to a free pass have had to fork out on taxi fares for the last three months while the forecourt at Chatham railway station is being refurbished.

Operator Nu-Venture has apologised for the inconvenience but said the issue was out of its hands and was a matter for Medway Council.

The 185 service was due to be reintroduced last Saturday, but it has now been confirmed the works will continue until the end of summer.

People living on the route are fuming they are having to pay for a cab to ferry them to Chatham to get their shopping and carry out other tasks.

Beryl Smith, 77, and her friend Marie Morgan, 93, share a taxi twice a week which costs them £24 between them.

Widow Mrs Smith, who has difficulty walking, cannot make the journey without transport, said: “I am seriously out of pocket and angry.

"I live on my own and look forward to getting out the house as well as doing my shopping. I get bored stuck indoors all the time.

"That bus service is a lifeline to me. It is taking out a chunk of my money. I can't afford to shop in a corner shop nearby.”

"That bus service is a lifeline to me... I'm seriously out of pocket and angry" - Beryl Smith

Medway Council would only say the work was due to be finished "later this summer".

The £1.4 million upgrade include a complete remodelling and makeover of the station forecourt and roads around the station, resurfacing of pavements and walkways, new taxi and drop-off bays and new public art.

The improvement works, which form part of Medway Council’s Chatham placemaking initiative, will enhance connectivity between the town’s key transport and commercial centres.

It will also improve passenger experience through investments in public spaces around the station.

Medway Council successfully secured £700,000 from the government’s Local Growth Fund through the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP).

This was to contribute towards the upgrade, with Network Rail match-funding the windfall through its National Station Improvement Programme.

The wider £4m Chatham placemaking initiative, now nearing its completion, has seen refurbishment projects at New Cut Junction, St John’s Square, Military Square and Military Road.