Birmingham bus that survived the Blitz restored for £500,000

It's a double decker bus with a remarkable history spanning more than 90 years - and now AEC Regent 486 has a new lease of life after a painstaking restoration that's cost £500,000.

The bus started life on the roads of Birmingham in 1931; was sent to work in London during World War Two; returned to Birmingham after the city lost 145 buses in an air raid at Hockley; sold for scrap in 1946; discovered in a Herefordshire field in 1970; and is now a gleaming reminder of a bygone era of transport at a museum in north Worcestershire.

Its restoration at Transport Museum Wythall, which began in 2013, was beset by technical problems, with more than 160 faults identified during the work.

The engine caught fire ahead of an unveiling in 2019, and then of course there was a global pandemic.

"It's been a hell of a lot of pressure and stress until we got it out on the road again," admitted Rob Handford, who's spearheaded the restoration project.

"I'm just about beginning to enjoy it now, and there is huge satisfaction and relief. The satisfaction is people saying 'this is fantastic - this is an incredible vehicle'.

"It shows the standard of vehicles that were turned out, and this is what people are amazed by."

Museum colleague Denis Chick added: "The whole thing is exquisite. You can't believe it's a bus. It just shows that pride in engineering.

"It must have been like going to work in a Rolls Royce."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk