A MUCH loved coach, which has great sentimental value to its Ashbury owners, has been been severely vandalised.

The coach, a 30-year-old, Leyland Leopard, was left in a lay-by near Castle Cross last week when vandals struck and smashed many of its windows.

What makes the vandalism worse is that the 49-seater coach was not just any old vehicle to its owners, Tracy and Alan Lee, but one where they met and fell in love.

Tracy was a passenger on the coach which Alan was driving at the time more than 23 years ago in Winchcombe near Cheltenham.

She said: 'Alan was the driver and I was going into work in Evesham in Worcestershire so this coach has some very happy memories for us. We never forgot it and tracked it down and asked its owners to let us know if it was ever available.'

Fortunately for Tracy and Alan the recent owners, H H Motors of Herefordshire, agreed to sell it and they bought it for its scrap value, paying around £1,000 to have it transported to their West Devon home.

Alan, 66, is now retired as a driver and unfortunately suffered from a stroke, but he and Tracy, who is a coach driver herself with Carmel Coaches, are determined to restore the Leyland Leopard to its prime.

Tracy, 40, said: 'The vandalism is a real shame as this sets our restoration plans back a few months. We were hoping to have it ready for Easter but now we will just have to wait a little longer.

'This is not the first time vandalism has occurred in the rural lay-by at Castle Cross and I was told a tractor parked there recently also had its windows smashed.'

Because the coach was off-road and not for road use it was not insured. To make it worse it also had a notification by the Environment Agency on its window to move it when the vandals struck. It is now safely parked on private ground.

Tracy said: 'The vandalism was so senseless. Children or youngsters did it simply because they were bored and looking for a bit of fun.

'That vehicle means so much to Alan and it was on that coach we met and fell in love — it has so many sentimental memories for us.

'We are determined to restore her to the condition it was in all those years ago when I first hopped aboard.'

Tracy is appealing to anyone who saw the vandalism to contact Okehampton Police on 08452 777444.