Proposed changes to bus services in Islington and central London would be detrimental to some of the borough’s most vulnerable residents, the council has warned Transport for London (TfL).

TfL has mooted sweeping changes to bus services in London, which it claims are due to a lack of funding from central government.

They include cutting route 4 entirely – a major route between Archway and the Whittington Hospital and Blackfriars.

The move would also see the 254, 259 and 476 routes cut back, and re-routing of the 214 route so it no longer runs through the borough.

The changes would make it significantly more difficult for local people to access Whittington Hospital, St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital by bus, and could lead to children needing to take several buses to get to school, the council said.

TfL held a two-month public consultation on the proposals which ended on August 7), and Islington's transport chief, Cllr Rowena Champion, has written to Seb Dance, London’s deputy mayor for transport, to outline Islington’s position in order to keep up the pressure.

In the letter she said: “Public transport is vital to how Londoners travel to work, access education and services, and visit friends and family.

“In particular, we are concerned about the impact on those with disabilities, residents on lower incomes, and people who are less mobile, all of whom are more reliant on the good value and high-quality connections that our existing bus service provides."

Transport secretary Grant Shapps accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of "repeatedly playing politics instead of fulfilling his side of the bargain" after the government provided TfL with "close to £5bn of funding".

But in response, a City Hall spokesperson said: “The Mayor is furious on behalf of Londoners that TfL is having to reduce the bus network by four per cent because of the conditions attached by the Government to the emergency funding deals.

“TfL has worked to ensure that the bus routes proposed for changes or withdrawal are already well served by other routes, meaning services would continue to meet demand and allow customers to still make the same journeys, though with an additional interchange in some instances."