Civic leaders in Glastonbury have blasted a bus company for threatening to withdraw late night services in the town as a result of anti-social behaviour.

FirstBus had written to the town council after experiencing trouble with revellers in the town, saying they had to call the police out on "more than a few" occasions and voicing concerns that staff or customers could be injured.

They had proposed re-routing the later night buses on services 376 (Bristol – Street) and 377 (Wells – Yeovil) services through Lambrook Street and Bere Lane, instead of through the town centre.

But councillors blasted the suggestion at their latest meeting, saying the problem had been blown out of proportion.

"Re-routing the buses is completely unacceptable to the good, long-suffering people of Glastonbury," said councillor Andy Andrews.

"The public should not have to suffer because of the actions of a few yobs."

PC Mark Pople said he believed the letter gave people the wrong impression of the town.

"This makes it sound as if we are living in a war zone," he said. "The few calls that we have received have been about people fare-dodging, or jumping on the bus, running straight up the aisle and out the emergency exit."

County councillor Alan Gloak said the suggestion was madness.

"We encourage people to drink sensibly and not drive," he said. "Buses are an essential part of this – on top of that, the buses are under contract to Somerset County Council – they could be in breach of that contract if they decide to alter the routes."

"This would be a very retrograde step if we can't resolve this problem," said Councillor Ian Tucker. "Perhaps we could supply the bus drivers with a radio link, or suggest they secure security cameras on the bus to identify the people doing this, so action could be taken."

Karen Baxter, a spokeswoman for FirstBus, said: "We can confirm that we have spoken to the council regarding the possibility of routing some late night buses in Glastonbury; this follows some issues we have had with anti social behaviour along Glastonbury High Street on Friday and Saturday nights.

"No final decisions have been made as yet though, and we await feedback from the council following their meeting."

The council voted unanimously to oppose the suggestion of re-routing the bus.

"We're talking about a few yobs," said Councillor Laiqa Browne. "This has been completely blown out of proportion.

"Surely a bus conductor with a mobile phone could solve the problem."