A new trial bus service connecting two Staffordshire towns will launch next month.

From 1 September, the year-long county council-funded 151 service will run from Stone to Rugeley.

There will be nine journeys per day (Monday to Saturday) in each direction between just before 9am and 5.30pm.

Where will it stop?:

• Aston Lodge (replacing service A)
• Burston
• Sandon
• Weston
• Hixon
• Great Haywood
• Little Haywood
• Colwich

The number of passengers will be monitored by the county council's transport team during the trial period.

The timetable should soon be available here.

Andrew Mynors, Staffordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Connectivity said: "It's great news for communities along the A51 corridor that they can benefit from better transport connections through our new bus service.

"We've worked closely with residents and in the town and parish councils to get this trial service off the ground.

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"We hope people make use of the service over the year from September, as forward plans will depend on passenger numbers.

"This route hasn't had a regular service for several years and it will be a welcome addition for people of all ages.

"It's a priority to us to ensure our residents have a choice of transport options to access work, education, health and leisure services.

"We continually review our bus network so that it's efficient and targeted where services are needed most."

Brendan McKeown, Stafford Borough Councillor for Haywoods and Hixon said: "There are many growing communities and industrial developments along the Trent Valley and so we're pleased the county council has worked with us to launch this 12-month trial service, which is a generous period.

"After our hard work and planning to get to this point, we hope as many people use the service as possible.

"I would also like to thank the county council and county cllr Andrew Mynors, who represents the Trent Valley Division, for his support."