Vintage hybrid bus back in service for passengers

The Tilling-Stevens petrol electric bus has a top speed of about 12mph (19.3kmh)

A hybrid bus dating from the start of World War One will be available for free rides as part of an exhibition in West Sussex.

The Tilling-Stevens petrol electric bus at Amberley Museum uses a motor engine to drive a dynamo, which powers an electric motor to turn the wheels.

The museum is showing its collection of pre-1939 South Downs buses on Sunday and will also be joined by a number of “visiting buses”.

Peter Edgelar, the museum’s photographer, said: “It’s just evocative for a lot of people - they went to school on these things, they went out with their first girlfriends and boyfriends on these things, many of them found their life partners on these things. It’s the smell and the sounds.”

People can enjoy open top rides in the collection of South Downs buses

People can watch, photograph and ride on the buses – which include models from the 1920s and 1930s – around the museum’s 36-acre site.

Mr Edgelar told BBC Radio Sussex: “I’ve been a volunteer at Amberley for well over 20 years and the place gets into your blood. I now actually own a vintage bus."

The bus showcase and rides are included in the price of admission to the museum.