West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has hailed a new bus service which will help to keep local shoppers on the move around Malvern and Upton-upon-Severn. The brand new service – called Malferna – has been created by Worcestershire County Council to fill the gap in services left after First Bus removed off-peak services between Upton, Malvern Wells and Malvern. Harriett met with Worcestershire County Council cabinet member John Smith to get a briefing on the plans and to discuss to future funding plans. Both were keen to pay tribute to local councillors Tom Wells and Lucy Hodgson who have also worked towards securing a solution following the First Bus announcement, last month. Harriett commented: “I’ve met with First Bus and the county council to see what we can do to help local people get around in off-peak hours and this solution is a fabulous piece of news. “I was keen to make sure we spread the word on the new service and encourage as many people to use this service. “The First Bus data showed that there were very few people using this service, so I hope many more people will spot these distinctive red buses and hop on to get to Malvern or Upton. “Both John Smith and I were keen to recognise the efforts of Councillor Tom Wells and we hope he makes a swift recovery from his injuries. “It is now very important that those people who signed petitions and wrote letters now vote with their feet and get on the new Malferna service to ensure the fares paid cover the cost of running the service.” Photo: Harriett Baldwin MP gets a preview of the brand new Malferna service with Councillor John Smith.