A FLEET of vintage buses whisked passengers around the city and through the ages at a special event to mark the closure of Salisbury bus station on Sunday.

After being the hub of Salisbury’s bus network for more than 70 years, the bus station closed after being sold off by the Wilts & Dorset bus company.

To mark the occasion, bus firm Salisbury Reds arranged for more than 20 buses ranging from a 1939 Bristol K5G to the latest Bus for London, launched in 2012, to take people on trips around the city.

Andrew Wickham, managing director of Salisbury Reds, was one of the volunteer drivers taking the historic buses to special routes around Salisbury in a 1962 London Routemaster double decker bus.

Despite the wet weather, hundreds of families and bus enthusiasts braved the conditions to admire the vehicles and bid farewell to the city’s bus station.

Donations were collected for Salisbury District Hospital’s Stars Appeal and £2,500 was raised on the day, which will be doubled by the Go Ahead Group, which owns the Salisbury Reds bus company.

“We were fortunate to be joined by some buses that were recognised by local people from the Wilts & Dorset and Hants & Dorset operations,”

said Salisbury Reds’ operations manager, Andrew Sherrington. “We thank everyone who contributed to help make the day a great success.”

He said the vintage bus day was a fitting end of an era for the bus station, which closed due to being too expensive to operate.

The last-ever regular bus service to pull out of Salisbury Bus Station was the X3 to Ringwood on Saturday night, driven by Will Degan.

Bus services will now use bus stops around the city with some timetable changes.

Information can be found at salisburyreds.co.uk or by calling 0845 072 7093.