A COMMUNITY bus scheme in the Ribble Valley can now reach out into Hyndburn after unveiling its new vehicle.

The Little Green Bus company has been awarded £350,417 over a five-year period after having its bid accepted by the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All and Reaching Communities programme.

The funding means that the scheme can now expand out of the borough and into its neighbour, Hyndburn.

Ribble Valley and Hyndburn Mayors Bridget Hilton and Marlene Haworth attended the unveiling of the new bus in its base in Hawthorn Industrial Park in Clitheroe yesterday.

The bus is a Mercedes Spirit Mobility 45 purpose built vehicle which will now provide access to vital services for older people who are isolated, disengaged from community life and lonely within their own homes.

The bus will provide door-to-door transport driven by qualified volunteers.

Donna Atkinson, who has been a manager of the scheme for nine years, said the day was brilliant and it was a fresh new chapter for the scheme.

She said: “The bus is going to do so much for so many people in the Ribble Valley and Hyndburn.

“We wanted to branch out to Hyndburn because like ourselves they have also received cuts to their bus services and due to austerity the amount of public transportation available to people is limited.

“This scheme benefits so many people.

“We’ve known lots of people who use the buses to become friends and see each other away from just sitting next to each other on the bus.

“A group of ladies went away together and they all said they never thought they would go on holiday on their own again.”

The bus can fit 16 passengers and a driver with the added feature of being able to remove the seating to hold wheelchairs.