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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Milo Boyd

Coach holidays fan plans dozens of trips after winning 50 years of free travel

A coach enthusiast is planning to ride on every single National Express route after winning 50 years of free coach travel.

Tom Humphries, from Rickinghall, Suffolk, can spend the next five decades riding coaches until his heart's content after bagging the top prize in the company's 50 day giveaway.

The win is a major coup for Tom, who has spent the last 12 years travelling from London up to Scotland to see his girlfriend.

He will now be able to take the journey for free with National Express.

In addition to the regular journey, Tom is planning to squeeze the most value out of the pass as possible by having a go on every single National Express route.

The coach company is 50 years old (National Express/Publicity handout)

The firm's national network links more than 540 locations, including 59 of the UK mainland's 76 cities, with 1,800 plus services operating every day, increasing to over 1,900 on Fridays.

“I am so grateful to National Express for this incredible prize and am very excited about the prospect of exploring cities and towns in the UK I’ve never been to before," Tom said.

“I have very fond memories of travelling on the double decker National Express Rapide from London to Bristol to visit my nanna, dreaming of getting the top deck front seat as it was always a great view.

"Now I can continue limitless National Express adventures until I’m 97 years old.

“Thank you again to National Express and happy 50th anniversary.”

The UK’s largest coach operator gave away a surprise prize every day for 50 days, including the 50 year pass for travel across its UK-wide network, as part of its celebration of 50 years on the road.

Chris Hardy, managing director of National Express UK Coach: “Free travel is always a fantastic prize but even more so now with the cost of living rising.

“We are thrilled to hear that the pass will go to such great use and help connect Tom with friends and family as well as the opportunity to visit new destinations across the whole of the UK.

"We wish him many happy adventures."

As part of their ticket National Express customers can enjoy a leather reclining seat, free wi-fi, air conditioning, USB power sockets and a luggage allowance of up to 20kg.

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