Scenes from the heart of York will be seen whizzing down the highways of Europe - thanks to a local coach company's novel way of celebrating its fiftieth birthday.

Eddie Brown and the coach painted with York scenes, next ot Clifford's Tower Picture: Mike Tipping

Eddie Brown, founder of Eddie Brown Tours, the coach firm based at Helperby, marked the anniversary by unveiling a £190,000 coach painted with famous images of the city, including Clifford's Tower and the Minster - to say thank you to the people of York for their support over the years.

Tour director Deirdre Brown, Eddie's daughter, said: "For our fiftieth anniversary, we wanted to do something special to say thank you to all the people and businesses of York, so we had a competition, and a girl who works for us came up with the design."

Nottingham artist Tim O'Brien turned the basic design into nine city scenes, each sponsored by a local organisation.

The coach will be off on its maiden voyage to Cornwall this weekend. Eddie Brown's coach trips operate throughout Europe and Mrs Brown said their coaches are frequently hired by foreign visitors from as far afield as Japan.

The firm currently runs 31 coaches and employs 68 staff, based at Helperby and Nottingham.

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