GRANNIES could be costing Medway Council taxpayers money with a scam involving their bus passes.

The potential for fraud has been revealed by Cllr Tony Luckhurst (Lib Dem) who admitted he would qualify for his own pass in a few months.

He told Medway's environment scrutiny committee that once a concessionary bus pass was issued, it was easy to copy. None carry a picture. He produced three fake passes he had forged on his home computer together with a real example. They were virtually identical.

The passes can be used to travel on any bus in the Medway Towns for 20p. Arriva's bus drivers have been ordered by their managers not to ask pensioners for proof of their age if they think they are too young to have a pass.

Under a complicated costing formula agreed by the Government and one of the leading financial institutes, it costs the council £1.18 each time a pensioner travels.

Since the concession was introduced there has been a big increase in the number of bus journeys made through the towns. Next year the passes will be extended to allow men the same cheap fare when they reach their 60th birthday.

Ian Wilson, the council's public transport manager, said the council did not need to check the figures of the eight bus companies serving the towns. "We have an average cost for each ticket," he had said earlier. "We know the number of journeys and how many pass holders there are. There is no need to police it."

But Cllr Luckhurst said: "The system should be much more watertight, and have photographs." Cllr Diane Chambers (Con) agreed. She said: "There are clearly abuses going on."

It was agreed to invite Arriva managers to a meeting of the committee on January 28 when it discusses its public transport best value report.