BUS and coach operator Reays is recruiting another 18 employees.

It is taking on bus and coach drivers, mechanics and administration staff at its Strawberry Fields headquarters in Syke Road, Wigton.

Posts include an auto-electrician, body repairs and spray painter, a receptionist, parts buyer and stores person, plus seven drivers and five trainee drivers. Most are full-time positions.

The newcomers will take the total number of people employed by Reays to 140, the highest since it was founded in 1980.

Managing director Chris Reay said: “It is a measure of how well the business is continuing to grow across all areas.

"And what is also pleasing, as a Cumbrian employer, is that the people we take on tend to be local too. We are happy to provide them with training and opportunities to progress their careers with us once they join.

“That can mean moving up from local private hire or school bus runs to European long-haul, if they wish."

Mr Reay's late father, Walter Reay, started the business 36 years ago, initially operating one 16-seater mini-bus to take pub darts' and dominoes' teams to matches.

Reays now operates one of the biggest fleets of private hire coaches in the north of England, runs public bus service in Carlisle and west Cumbria, and provides school and college contracts throughout Cumbria.

It also has a coach holiday business, and provides the staff transport and park-and- ride facility on the Sellafield nuclear site.