BUS passengers will be left stranded when roadworks begin on the A7 tomorrow.

A series of night-time and weekend closures are planned between Selkirk and Hawick until Wednesday, October 30.

And it means there will be no X95 services on that stretch.

Ashkirk resident Krysia Akers told us: “I was on the bus on Monday and a notice said the diversion to get to Hawick would be through St Boswells.

“But that is no good for anybody living in Ashkirk.

“I am an old age pensioner and depend on buses to get about. I just feel a bit cut off.

“I do not know what I would do if there was an emergency.

“I do not expect there to be a lot of passengers using the service at Askirk, but I am sure I will not be the only person affected.”

As previously reported, the carriageway will be completely closed between 8pm and 6am, from tomorrow (Thursday) into Friday, and during the same hours from Monday into Tuesday – to allow for maintenance works.

The road will also be shut all weekend starting from 8pm on Friday right through to 6am on Monday morning.

A second phase of works will lead to similar night-time and weekend closures next week – from Thursday (October 24) to Tuesday (October 29).

Borders Buses, which operates the Edinburgh to Carlisle X95 service, has arranged for shuttle buses to carry passengers from Selkirk to Galashiels Interchange on the weekends.

But anyone wanting to travel from Selkirk to Hawick will have to take a shuttle bus via Galashiels for onward travel.

Sharon Morrison, from the bus company, told us: “We have had to make difficult decisions while these roadworks are carried out.

“We have looked at when and where services are most-used and have had to cut services where the numbers of passengers are very small.

“We do have shuttle buses running for passengers between Galashiels and Selkirk. We have tried to keep 95 per cent of our services running to timetable during this difficult time.

“I would advise anybody wanting to travel during the closures to visit our website or use our online journey planner.

“Leaflets have also been placed on buses detailing the relevant information.”

For more information, visit: www.bordersbuses.co.uk