Wrightbus: Order for more than 160 buses placed with Ballymena company

The company has described the order as a "fantastic move" towards rebuilding its brand

An order for more than 160 buses has been placed with Ballymena company Wrightbus.

The order, worth £29m, has been placed by English bus operator Rotala and is for vehicles that will be delivered this year.

A total of 163 buses have been ordered, with 128 of these being double deckers.

Wrightbus was bought by industrialist Jo Bamford in October and completed the delivery of its first buses under his ownership a month later.

The firm was purchased after going into administration in September last year, with 1,200 of its workers being made redundant at the time.

Last month, Mr Bamford said there were 400 employees working at the factory.

'A fantastic step'

The new double decker buses are Street Deck models, and have been ordered to supply Rotala's Diamond Bus North West subsidiary.

The other 35 buses will be single-decker Street Lite models, and will supply the Diamond Bus network, as well as bus services in Preston, the Midlands, and at Heathrow Airport.

Speaking to BBC News NI in January, Mr Bamford cited an interest in using hydrogen to power buses as the main reason for his involvement in the firm.

The new batch of of vehicles work on a hybrid model which significantly reduces emissions.

John McLeister, the company's sales and business development director, said it was "a fantastic step in our journey to rebuild the Wrightbus brand".