A PENSIONER, outraged that elderly neighbours have free tube travel while Epping District residents do not, has handed over a petition containing more than 1,300 signatures.

Olivia Rhys, from Cedar Close, Buckhurst Hill, lives just yards from the Central Line but on turning 60 she discovered that she did not qualify for the free Tube travel available to all pensioners living in London.

She launched a campaign to have the concession extended to those living in the district through which the Central Line passes and, after attracting a massive level of support, has handed her petition to Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing.

She said: “I am a pensioner with the same financial constraints as many of my pensioner friends who live nearby on the fringes of London. But they are quite rightly travelling for free while I have to pay £7 or £8 each time I use the Tube.

“I have paid for my Oyster Card for many years and was really looking forward to the day I could get my free pass.

“So I could not believe my ears when I found out I could not have one.”

Since featuring in the Guardian in November Mrs Rhys has attracted a further 500 names to her petition which is calling on London Councils to extend the freedom pass scheme.

She said she was overwhelmed by the level of support she had received but that she would need help for the next leg of her journey.

She added: “It’s hard graft, and getting signatures takes time, you have to explain to people about the situation and ask for their support.”

A spokesman for London Councils said: “The scheme is paid for by residents of London and is run for those living in the capital.

“Because Olivia Rhys does not live in a London borough she is not eligible. She could ask her own local authority if they could develop a similar scheme to include her area, but we cannot extend the scheme outside of London.”