A WEDDING couple from Bury almost missed the bus after their double-decker plans were scuppered by the Deputy Prime Minister.

Paula Moses and bus driver hubby Justin, who married on Saturday, planned to travel from St Thomas' Church in Bury to their wedding reception in style - on a bright red, open-topped, double-decker bus.

But two hours before they were due to say "I do", they found their dream wedding carriage had already been booked out - to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

Justin, from Pine Street in Bury, paid £25 to book the bus via the Bury depot.

He said: "When my driver went to pick up the bus from the Bolton depot he was told he couldn't have it because it was being cleaned - because John Prescott was using it the next day!

"They offered us another double decker, an orange GM bus, but it was filthy and covered in graffiti."

In desperation, Justin raced to Bury bus depot to see if he could arrange some alternative wedding transport.

He said: "I was getting married in two hours time and I had to sort out another bus. Thankfully Bury depot were great. They took a cleaner bus out of service for us and I left the other one with them." Friends and family sprang into action decorating the bus with balloons, streamers and ribbon.

Bus scheduler Colin Voyce at GM Buses claims the mix-up came following confusion over a booking form.

He said: "Mr Moses contacted us back in January to ask if the bus was available. We told him it was, and sent out a quotation booking form.

"He never returned it and that was the last we heard from him, until he turned up on Saturday morning."

Meanwhile, the bus had been booked to take the Deputy Prime Minister to the opening of a new flight terminal at Manchester Airport on Sunday.

The couple decided to go for a double decker wedding before Justin took his bus driver's test six months ago..

He said: "I was learning to drive I first saw the red open-topped bus and thought wouldn't that be great for a wedding.

"When I got home, Paula just happened to be looking at brochures of London buses used for weddings. So it was both our ideas really."

But despite the last-minute transport change, the happy couple say it didn't put the dampeners on their big day.

Justin said: "It didn't spoil my day. Apart from the mix-up it was great. The family thought travelling by bus was brilliant, especially the kids."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.