Stagecoach East honours long-serving team members from Bedford

Dedicated members of staff at Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s leading bus service have been honoured at a Long Service Awards ceremony.

Stagecoach East’s employees who have been with the company for more than 20 years come from each of its depots in Bedford, Cambridge, Fenstanton and Peterborough. Some have even been with the service for 45 years. In total, the winners represent over 1000 years of service to transport in the region.

The event took place at The Belfry in Cambourne and was hosted by David Sheppard, an experienced writer, radio presenter, voiceover artiste and public speaker.

Bedford was strongly represented on the evening, as Christopher Last, Dean Owen, Vijay Mali, Robin Day, Stephen Annor, Amrik Brar, Palbinder Josh, Tracey Barr, Martin Smith, Nicolas Goldfinch, Paul Brimley, David Deacy, Laura Dennis and Ian Smith all achieving recognition.

Those being honoured this year were asked for fun facts about themselves: one has won competitions as an Austin Powers lookalike, another was known as ‘Mr Pele’ when he was young and played football for Rhodesia in the 1960’s, and still another wanted to be a commando when they were young.

One colleague found a young boy asleep on a bus when it got back to the garage – and she was able to get him safely home!

Darren Roe, Managing Director for Stagecoach East said: “A service like running a modern bus network relies on the combined knowledge and experience of its team members. So, I am very proud to honour some of the people who have been here for the longest periods of time.

“This accumulated wisdom is the foundation of everything that we do. It is very striking, as I travel around the different areas, that people enjoy working here, and they have a real passion to provide the best possible service to our passengers. Across Stagecoach East, it is in our DNA to work to provide a service that our passengers and local communities can be proud of.

“Along with the dynamism that comes from new people joining the service, this provides the basis for our future success. So, I would like to offer my thanks to everyone who works so hard every day to welcome our passengers and to keep our communities connected.”