BUS firm Stagecoach will send some South Wales drivers to work at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer - despite staffing concerns at home.

The company confirmed its plans to manage services at the games, which run from July 28 until August 8 in the West Midlands.

The Argus received reports around 12 Stagecoach drivers were being sent to Birmingham from the Gwent area. The bus firm did not clarify how many drivers are involved but said the "majority of our services across South Wales" will continue to run.

Last month, an investigation found hundreds of Stagecoach services in the Gwent area had been cancelled due to "driver availability" problems.

At the time, the firm said these "short-term" staffing issues were "out of our control due to external factors affecting the wider transport and logistics sector". 

One bus user told the Argus he was "fed up" with Stagecoach services being cancelled, and the problem meant he was regularly getting into work and getting home late.

On the Commonwealth Games plans, he said: "They're already short - why are they sending [drivers] up there when we are short here?"

The Argus contacted Stagecoach South Wales, asking the company to confirm reports 12 drivers from the Newport and Cwmbran area were being sent to work in Birmingham for the Games.

The firm did not clarify how many would be sent, nor the depots affected, but said it was "using a spread of drivers from right across the country to minimise the impact on any particular region".

A spokesperson for Stagecoach South Wales added: "We have several decades of experience of managing services for major sporting events alongside the normal services we provide for our communities.

"We have worked hard over the past year on the planning for a major international sporting event, however as with the majority of other businesses across the UK, we are experiencing unprecedented continuing issues as a result of the national skills shortage, which is having an impact on some of our local bus services."

The firm is "100 per cent focused on doing everything we can to mitigate" staffing pressures, the spokesperson said, including "working round the clock to recruit and train new drivers".

It has asked drivers to stagger their holidays this summer to avoid further staffing shortfalls, and "will also be using third party contractors where possible for the event in the West Midlands to deliver the best all-round solution in the current environment".