A BUS company has stepped in to fill the void left by the axed number 23 service.

First Bus Midland has announced the launch of the X53 bus from Stirling to Kinross, covering the Hillfoots, from Monday, September 14.

It comes after weeks of calls for Stagecoach to reverse the decision to cut its number 23 bus, said to be a "lifeline" in rural parts of the Wee County.

Graeme Macfarlan, commercial director at First Midland, said: "We are delighted to be introducing the brand new X53 service to maintain links for passengers on the Hillfoots corridor between Stirling and Kinross.

"We look forward to serving customers along this route and with some great value fares on offer we hope that more people with consider using the bus more often as their transport mode of choice.

"We are especially keen to ask more car users to reconsider bus as an alternative option for travel in the region as we look to do our part in a green recovery from the global pandemic that has affected us all."

The X53 will run around every two hours with an end-to-end journey time of about half an hour.

The announcement comes after Clackmannanshire Council put a call out to ask commercial operators to fill the gap.

According to First Bus, stops for the X53 will include Dollar, Tillicoultry, the University of Stirling while the council confirmed Muckhart will be served by the bus as well.

Councillor Craig Holden said: "The council was notified by Stagecoach of its plan to cease the 23 service and was concerned that this would leave sections of our community, particularly Muckhart, without access to public transport.

"We put a call out to local commercial operators and asked whether any of them were prepared to fill the gap and were delighted when First Bus stepped forward and said that they would start a new service, the X53 between Kinross and Stirling from [Monday, September 14].

"The X53 will provide public transport to Muckhart, as well as to the Hillfoots and a link to Stirling University, and we encourage local people to support this new service to help ensure that it is a commercial success."

An adult day ticket for the X53 will be £11.90 with return fares starting from £3.20.

First Bus is encouraging people to use its smartphone application and space checker tool to purchase tickets in advance and plan their journeys.

The announcement of the X53 service was welcomed by MSPs Mark Ruskell, Alexander Stewart and Keith Brown who had all called for the number 23 to be saved.

The X53 route is subject to final approval by the Traffic Commissioner's Office.