Two East Lancashire bus drivers have been given awards for 45 years of service behind the public service wheel.

The Blackburn bus company's Michael Boyes and Alex Pomponi from its Burnley counterpart were celebrated at a special evening at the Howard Suite in Headingley Stadium, Leeds.

They were among 28 staff from the two firms honoured at parent company Transdev's Celebration of Service dinner for clocking up 25, 30, 35, 40, or 45 years on the buses.

Long service awards were also received by three of the team at Rosso Bus.

The long service celebration comes as Transdev continues its 2022 campaign to recruit new drivers at its 10 operating centres across Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.

A total of 1,450 years of service given by 48 long-serving Transdev team members based in the North-West and Yorkshire was saluted at the specially arranged event, held for the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic.

Transdev chief executive, Alex Hornby, said: “The inspiring stories of amazing customer service provided by Michael, Alex and all our Celebration of Service Award winners are humbling for me to hear.

“This celebration evening is our way of saying thank you to them for all they have done and continue to do for our customers. As a growing business, we benefit greatly from their professionalism and experience.

“Their knowledge built up over decades provides a guiding example to the newer members of our teams, while ensuring we have a secure foundation on which to build for the years ahead.”

Shabir Ahmed, Duty Manager for The Keighley Bus Company, also received an award for 45 years service.