A “vital” Wirral bus service used by thousands will be axed because of controversial delays to a bridge linking Wallasey and Birkenhead.

The Arriva Bus 408 service, which was only introduced a year ago, will be scrapped later this year, with company bosses blaming overrunning works to the Tower Road dock bridge.

The works were originally meant to be completed by December last year, but after several pledges by the council that it would reopen, Arriva has had enough.

The local authority described the news as “disappointing”, maintaining its expectation the bridge, which connects Alfred Dock and East Float, will reopen in at the end of this month.

The service links the two Wirral towns, looping through Birkenhead Bus Station, Seacombe Ferry Terminal, Wallasey and Liscard.

But it’s been “severely affected” by the closed bridge road, and so will be withdrawn from September onwards.

On Monday, Councillor Paul Hayes, who represents the Wallasey ward, said: “The delays at the dock bridge have been a major headache for anyone travelling to and from Wallasey for months. Drivers have been diverted, causing congestion on other routes and now we see the knock-on effects for bus users as well.

“Arriva, in good faith, took the town hall at their word when they said the bridge would be completed by December 2017.

“Six months later, and in spite of temporary funding from Merseytravel, they can no longer accept the waffle and excuses and have decided to start the formal consultation to withdraw this route.

“I am very concerned that people who depend on this service to get to work or simply to get around the borough will be left high and dry, with little or no concern from the town hall.”

With Tower Road being off limits due to the works, the 408 has been taking a diversion via Duke Street and Dock Road in the initial hope the bridge would reopen by the start of 2018.

But laying out the reasons why the route has been withdrawn, a letter written by Arriva Birkenhead’s general manager Len Gibbs said: “Various deadlines for completion have come and gone with little prospect of the disruption coming to an end.

“Given this backdrop it is perhaps not surprising the new service 408 has not had the opportunity to grow and expand in line with our expectation and to be completely open it has been making very significant losses since day one.

“We now have no alternative but to reluctantly withdraw the new 408 from September.”

The letter also highlighted the “potential difficulties” the move will have on bus users in the Poulton Road area, as residents there would see no service from September.

But it added: “We will obviously look to see if we can reduce the impact of this change, but in all honesty it looks very unlikely that we have the resources to redirect another service to cover this gap.”

When contacted, Arriva said it had no further comment to make.

It has handed motorists a time-consuming diversion and been the subject of frustration on social media, with the reopening date having been put back on more than one occasion.

Cllr Hayes, who said the bus route is used by thousands of people every week, is now calling for urgent action by the council to work with Arriva to support the 408 route until the bridge has reopened.

He added: “Why should bus passengers in Wallasey pay for the failings of the town hall and their contractors to deliver this project on time?”

A spokesman for Wirral council said: “According to the latest information from the contractors we expect the Tower Road bridge to re-open by the end of this month.

“Throughout the highly technical and complex works Wirral council has ensured all partners have been made aware of changes to the timetable for the bridge replacement project.

“It is disappointing that Arriva chose to begin this service while the bridge was closed and make their decision to withdraw it (as the subsidy ended) before the route was given time to become more popular.”