Bus company offers free ‘Reach the Beach’ service

The free summer service will be provided by local bus company Crosskeys

A free summer bus service on the Kent coast will be offered from Saturday.

The "Reach the Beach" service will take people from Folkestone train stations into the town centre and onwards to the beach.

It will run daily from 20 July to 1 September and will be free to passengers.

Buses will leave Folkestone West half-hourly at 10:00 BST, with a 90-minute break between services at lunch and mid-afternoon. The last bus will return from Folkestone Harbour at 19:45.

Stops along the 10-minute journey include Cheriton Road outside Folkestone Central Station, Shellons Street for the town centre, Old High Street and the Harbour Arm.

The service is being provided by local bus company Crosskeys, with funding from the government's bus service improvement plan allocation to Kent County Council.

Alan Johnson, managing director of Crosskeys, said the service would boost local businesses and help ease congestion.