A charity set up to support the elderly has called for bus shelters to be reinstated in Helston's main street.

Helston Age Concern has written to the town council urging them to put bus shelters on both sides of the road in Coinagehall Street, just as they were around 35 years ago.

Robert Angove, secretary of the Age Concern branch, wrote: "Some of our members that leave the weekly luncheon club on Mondays have to wait for buses in Coinagehall Street, which is a particularly wide street, exposed and very prone to catching the wind and driving rain."

He said that in a lot of cases members either had to be picked up by car or were forced to shelter in Carroll's Newsagents or Woolworths while waiting for the bus to arrive.

His letter was accompanied by a petition containing 57 signatures calling for the shelters to be built.

The proposal was considered by the town councillors at their meeting last Thursday (January 23), at which Helston resident Ivan Perry also raised the subject.

Mr Perry said: "It's imperative they are replaced. It is essential in this day and age."

Judith Haycock, a Kerrier district councillor for Helston, agreed: "It's not just the old people, it's the young people. At half past seven in the morning there are about 15 youngsters going to Truro College and Cornwall College. For the last month they've been like drowned rats down there."

Before council members gave their views on the subject, town mayor Ronnie Williams asked PC Derek Cormack, who was representing the town's police at the meeting, for a police perspective on how the bus shelters would be treated.

PC Cormack replied: "It would be lovely to build that for the people who deserve the protection. But as a policeman, the first thing that comes to mind is the design of it - where it would be and the cover for our feral youth."

Town clerk Chris Dawson said he was looking to see whether members supported the idea in principal, before he looked into the design and how much it would cost etc.

Councillor Nick Martin said: "The bus shelters were there before and the fact that it could be vandalised is no reason why we should deprive young people and the elderly of that facility in foul weather."

It was agreed that town clerk Mr Dawson should look into possibility of building shelters in more detail.