A bus which has served the city for almost 20 years was given a special send off by one of its biggest fans.

Enthusiast Peter Hood was picked up from his school for a surprise trip on his favourite bus before it was decommissioned.

When the 13-year-old first got his Brighton and Hove Bus ID at the age of five, he made his first journey on the Scania Omnidekka bus named Samuel Lewis.

Ever since, it has been his favourite bus to travel on. Peter wrote to the bus company about the vehicle.

The reason I love Samuel so much is because he was the first bus I got on after getting my first BusID card, which made me feel like a big boy when I was five.

 

I have lots of people watching out for my bus who send my mum regular updates about his whereabouts. I get so happy I flap my hands with joy, and I have loved sitting in his seat as if I am the driver.

But as Brighton and Hove Buses replaces its older fleet with more modern buses, it was earmarked for retirement.

Read more: New bus service set to launch within weeks

The bus first entered service in 2007 and was named after philanthropist Samuel Lewis.

He was one of the wealthiest men in Britain in the late 1800s, building affordable homes across the country and funding the Royal Sussex County Hospital and a convalescent home near Black Rock.

A housing association called the Samuel Lewis Housing Trust, formed after his death in 1901, is now known as the Southern Housing Group.

The Argus: Malissa, left and Peter, Right, on the bus leaving LewesMalissa, left and Peter, Right, on the bus leaving Lewes (Image: Terry Applin / Brighton and Hove Buses)

But the bus could not go without one final trip for its biggest fan. Peter was collected from Priory School in Lewes to join it on the final journey to Ringmer depot where it left service, joined by his parents and sister Malissa.

Victoria Garcia, accessibility and communities manager for Brighton and Hove Buses, said: “When we first heard how much Peter enjoyed travelling on the Samuel Lewis bus we wanted to ensure he got to have one final trip on board before it was retired."

Peter was presented with the named panel off the bus, with the registration and fleet number added to it by infrastructure officer David Grimstone.