Both park and ride sites in Chelmsford are set to close indefinitely due to a sharp drop in use during the pandemic.

Essex County Council says the service operating from Sandon, just off junction 18 of the A12, will be closed from Saturday (February 6) until further notice.

It comes less than a week after County Hall announced Chelmsford’s other park and ride site at Chelmer Valley was closing because of a lack of usage.

It was shut indefinitely on Saturday.

Essex County Council says the services are being suspended in response to “strict Government guidance” urging people to stay at home, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and because of dramatically reduced numbers of people using park and rides.

Infrastructure boss Kevin Bentley said: “While we seek to retain public transport services for individuals who are making essential journeys, those using the Park and Ride have access to a car, so will have an alternative mode of transport available should they need it.

“Our park and ride services are valued, high quality and sustainable services, however during this crisis we need to use our resources wisely which means deploying resources to support commercial bus services where passengers on these services may have no other options available.

"The county council has been redeploying buses and drivers to commercial routes that serve hospitals and other important routes.

“The closure will be for as short a time as possible as we know how valued it is. We look forward to welcoming back our regular travellers and hopefully new ones when it re-opens.”

The park and ride site off junction 28 of the A12 at Colchester is also closing indefinitely.