Dartmouth could have won the battle to end the Sunday bus service black hole which has left the town effectively cut off one day a week for seven months of the year.

Between May and September, Dartmouth does not have a single bus service which leaves the town on Sundays or bank holidays.

Holidaymakers and locals trying to get to railway stations are left stranded unless they are prepared to shell out for expensive cab rides, said bus pressure group co-ordinator Angie Cairns-Sharp.

But now First Bus is looking at extending one of its town-wide services to travel out to Totnes once or twice a day on Sundays, said Ms Cairns-Sharp.

'We have been highlighting this problem for five years,' said Angie from the Dartmouth and Area Public Transport Group.

'First Bus has timetabled it and it is with Devon County Council and it is looking at the costings,' she added. 'We are hopeful that it will go ahead.'

The news came at the latest meeting of the transport group which includes representatives from various town group and the bus companies.

She pointed put that while First Bus runs services to Paignton via Totnes and Plymouth via Kingsbridge on Sundays between May and September, for the rest of the year there is no bus link with the outside world.

'Nothing comes in and nothings goes out. For seven months we don't have anything at all,' she said.

'You cannot get people in and out to and from the train stations. It is desperate.

'From the tourist point of view we are trying to promote green travel and entice people to come to Dartmouth by train and there is no way to get here on a Sunday or a bank holiday outside May to September.'

She said First Bus was looking at extending its 90 town wide service to make trips to Totnes.

She added the bus company was also looking at including Totnes railway station on its X81 route from July this year.

Following last year's changes, passengers have been faced with lugging their luggage through Totnes to get to the station. Ms Cairns-Sharp also said that First Bus is trialling a new double decker service from Dartmouth to Paignton railway station via the Higher Ferry.

She said potentially the route could take in The Willows at Torquay and Torbay Hospital. She said: 'It is at the very early stages at the moment to see if it is possible logistically and whether it will work using the Higher Ferry.

'They seem quite optimistic that something could happen.'