BUS company First is being urged to reconsider introducing a new charge amid claims it is trying to cash in on summertime visitors to Alton Towers.

First Group has introduced an additional £1 charge to holders of their First Day tickets using the 32 and 32A service, linking Hanley to Cheadle and Uttoxeter.

The £4.55 fare for passengers using the buses between Hanley and Werrington will not be affected.

But anyone going beyond Cheadle, including visitors using the 32A service to Alton Towers, will have to pay the £1 supplementary charge.

Community leaders and passengers say they are being unfairly penalised because thousands of people use the service to travel to the theme park.

But officials at First deny claims they are cashing in on Alton Towers' trade and say running a regular service in a rural area would not be viable without tourist trade.

Cheadle councillor Ernest Vernon is urging First to reconsider.

He said: "It seems like First is looking at creating a bit more money on the back of the success of Alton Towers. I think this charge will be welcomed like a punch in the eye. It is wrong."

Sam Hale, aged 15, attends Painsley Catholic College and is the Staffordshire Moorlands representative for the UK Youth Parliament.

He is urging people to write to the bus company to protest at the increase.

He said: "A number of young people have contacted me regarding this. Buses around here are expensive enough as it is.

"I appreciate that perhaps the Hanley to Uttoxeter route is longer than more local routes. But we're a rural part of the county.

"No thought has been given with regards to the young people who use their transport."

County councillor for Cheadle and Checkley, and portfolio holder for highways on the county council, Mike Maryon, has also hit out at First's decision.

He added: "I have several local people call and emailing me to complain about the bus company's high-handed way of putting a £1 on an already expensive £4.55 fare.

"The people being hurt by this are the vulnerable with part-time jobs and low wages or the unemployed and pensioners, all who have trouble making ends meet.

"I will be asking the First Group to explain this decision, as well as seeking help from our local MP in discussions with this national bus company.

"It is difficult to understand why a 20 per cent plus increase is needed."

Cheadle town and district councillor Stephen Ellis has also hit out at First's decision.

He said: "I think it's absolutely outrageous and totally disgraceful. The idea of the FirstDay ticket was to provide unlimited travel across the whole area on buses provided by First – and now residents in our area are going to be penalised.

"I think this is the thin end of the wedge and could well lead to further charges elsewhere. It's like a tax on living in a rural area. While elderly people will be spared the charge through their free travel pass, it's clear some of the additional cost may now be being placed on fare-paying passengers.

"In this day and age of decentralised bus travel, let's hope another provider sets up a service to provide a competitive alternative."

Paul De Santis, First's commercial director, maintained the increase was reasonable on the route.

He said the service would not be viable without the fares paid by visitors to Alton Towers.

Mr De Santis added: "It is wrong of passengers to think they are suffering because of Alton Towers."

Users will have to pay £1 extra in addition to the First Day ticket, which costs £4.55 before 9am and £4.20 after 9am.

A First Day ticket allows bus passengers to travel on any of the bus company's routes throughout North Staffordshire South Cheshire and Chester and the Wirral.

The charge does not apply to people buying single or return tickets.

A return ticket from Cheadle to Uttoxeter and vice-versa costs £2.80 for an adult and £2 for a child.