A bus service with more punch

8:04am Monday 22nd January 2007

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A LOVE of Suffolk Punch horses and concerns about heavy traffic in the New Forest have led a Ringwood man to set up a horse-drawn omnibus service to run from Ringwood to various destinations across the district.

Stephen Jones (55) and his groom, Mo Hall, have founded Driving Sideways Ltd, which will operate the specialised service from May to October.

Stephen has owned Suffolk Punch horses for almost 20 years and drives them himself.

He is also part of a team that represents Britain in the French draught horses classic, the Route de Poisson, and is passionate about keeping this rare breed alive and in the public eye.

The Suffolk Punch are on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust's critical list and there are less than 300 animals in the world.

Mo said: "We want to find a role for Suffolks - and Heavy Horses in general - in this car-mad world and to do what we can to keep this rare, magnificent breed of animal in work which will, in turn, encourage people to continue to breed and use them."

Stephen and Mo have managed to track down an original 1906 double-decker horse-drawn omnibus that once belonged to Southampton Corp. livery.

The omnibus at one time appeared in commercials and films and was a common attraction at special events across the country.

However, it was rescued from a dusty, old barn where it had been in a sad state of neglect for several years and has now been christened the Ringwood Rover.

After receiving much encouragement from Paul Fulford, tourism officer at New Forest district council, Stephen and Mo have applied for funding from the government's Sustainable Development Fund, which encourages car-free transport across the New Forest.

They are still waiting to hear the results of the application. They are also in talks to use the Forest tracks commercially, including the Castleman Trailway, which will take the omnibus to Brockenhurst.

Stephen said: "I've lived in the Forest for 55 years and it grieves me to see it now when you can't move for cars. This is a way of counteracting that. People can still get to see the Forest but they will leave their cars at Ringwood."

Stephen and Mo are looking for local businesses that may wish to advertise on the boards around the bus and he says they can incorporate request stops outside shops.

For further information, contact Stephen on 07944 170362 or visit www.driving-sideways.co.uk.