AN OKEHAMPTON man has spoken of his huge disappointment after the collapse of his plans to start a bus service to meet every train at Okehampton Station.

One-time town firefighter and experienced bus driver Rick May had everything lined up to go ahead with plans for the service when the friend stumping up £8,000 as a loan so he could get his Bus Operator’s Licence pulled out.

Without this, the single dad to two young daughters has had no choice but to shelve his plans for his business, RM Buses Okehampton for the time being.

He has applied for his old job of bus driver with Stagecoach and starts back driving on local routes next week.

He has, however, vowed to carry on building up his funds, until he has enough money to pay for the Operator’s Licence himself. He had even got as far as selecting the former red London double decker buses for the service.

‘I’m gutted, so disappointed,’ he said. ‘I feel that through no fault of my own I have let the town down and the community down. I am back to square one. I haven’t given up completely but I have gone back to Stagecoach for a job and I am going back to driving again.

‘I need to build up my personal finances because I chucked everything in to do this and I have ended up with nothing.’

He added: ‘Everything was lined up. All the finance for the ticket machines and all the finance for the buses and to cover the insurance but I can’t do anything until I can get my Operator’s Licence.

‘At the moment the last bus from the train is at 5.30 in the evening and there is nothing later, meeting the 8.20 train or the 10.20 train. I am still determined to do it.’