BLACKBURN bus manufacturer East Lancashire Coachbuilders Ltd has been chosen to supply the bodies for buses to Stagecoach Group plc.

The Euro 4 buses will be fitted with state-of-the-art exhaust gas re-circulation engines and will be among the most environmentally friendly in Stagecoach's UK fleet.

The 43-seater buses will be introduced on Stagecoach's Ayr-Girvan-Stranraer service from September this year.

East Lancashire Coachbuilders sales director John Horn said: "We are delighted to have been given this opportunity to work with Stagecoach and securing this business is a real feather in our cap.

"Since our management buy-out last year, we have secured significant new business and we have established East Lancs as a mainstream supplier to the larger UK bus groups."

Stagecoach's Barrow depot currently operates a number of vehicles manufactured by East Lancashire Coach Builders, which were ordered by Cumbria County Council, but the new buses are the first ordered directly by Stagecoach to its own specification.