Campaigners fighting to save the popular K5 hail and ride bus service in Kingston have won a major victory.

The service, which currently allows passengers to hop on between stops on the Ham to Morden via Kingston route, was under threat after councillors and London transport bodies decided it contravened the Disability Discrimination Act.

But at last Monday's meeting, London Buses admitted the act had been misinterpreted and councillors on the transport and infrastructure overview panel agreed the decision should go back to committee for further consideration.

The move has delighted campaigners who united to form Kingston Residents Against the K5 Bus Suspension (Kraks). They feared elderly and disabled people would be worse off if they had to trek all the way to a fixed bus stop rather than to the nearest point on the route. The group collected more than 250 signatures from residents.

However at the call-in of the plans, Richard Shirley from London Buses, said: "Buses need to get to a kerb to deploy ramps properly for wheelchair users, people with buggies or those with heavy shopping."

But he acknowledged that although the act laid out what should happen when buses did stop, it did not state where buses should stop and did not call for the abolition of hail and ride services.

He said: "Both hail and ride and fixed stops could be considered as two systems running in parallel."

The next meeting of the Kingston Town neighbourhood committee is on September 1.