STAGECOACH West, servicing Gloucester, Cheltenham, Swindon, Stroud and the Forest of Dean, is decking out its Vintage Routemaster for one week in December in a bid to take Santa on a tour around the region.

The Vintage Routemaster will feature a temporary grotto for Santa between Monday, December 7, and Friday, December 11, stopping at the following locations between 10am and 2pm each day;

• December 7 - Kings Square, Gloucester

• December 8 - Globe Public House car park, Stonehouse

• December 9 - the Regent Arcade, Cheltenham

• December 10 - Cinderford Bus Station, Cinderford

• December 11 - Orbital Shopping Centre, Swindon

Families can board the Vintage Routemaster, which will be decked out as Santa’s Grotto, and pay a £2 donation for all children under the age of four to visit Santa and his elves and receive a present from him.

Stagecoach West local drivers have purchased over 350 brand new presents for children aged under four years old, all of which will be wrapped and handed out, with the proceeds of the £2 donation going to Winston’s Wish.

Winston’s Wish is a national charity that aims to raise £2.5 million each year in order to provide specialist bereavement support services to children who have lost a parent.

It’s estimated that more than 100 children every day within the UK lose a parent, and if the grief isn’t dealt with appropriately it can go on to have lasting effects on both their emotional well-being and their quality of life.

Liz Thatcher, Fundraiser at Winston’s Wish, commented:

“This is a wonderful Christmas event to enjoy with family. We are hugely grateful to everyone at Stagecoach West who are involved with the vintage Christmas tour bus and thank them for supporting Winston’s Wish.”

Rachel Geliamassi, Operations Director for Stagecoach West for, commented:

“The Routemaster has had tonnes of uses over the years, including being the means of transport for weddings throughout the region. It’s great that we’re transforming it into Santa’s Grotto now, taking it on a tour of towns that we operate in, and that we are able to support such a fantastic charity whilst doing so. We hope that our customers and passengers will dig deep and help us to raise enough to make a real difference to the charity and numerous children up and down the country.”