Big surprise for ex-coach boss

It was quite a shock for a Shropshire coach boss when one of his old fleet appeared more than 20 years after he retired.

Reg Price, 84, ran Excelsior coaches in Wrockwardine Wood, Telford, for over 30 years but closed the firm in 1984.

But his son Dave, who works for another Telford coach firm, has brought his father's company back to life.

He restored one of its old vehicles to its original colours and had the old logo painted on the side.

On Saturday Dave, 42, and his wife Janice, 45, revealed it to Reg at a surprise gathering with a group of his former colleagues.

Mrs Price said Reg was delighted and touched when he saw the restored coach and the group of his old drivers, many of whom he had not seen for several years.

"His face was a picture," she said. "It was as if he was seeing things. As soon as he saw the coach there were tears. He got really emotional and was just over the moon."

Dave, and his current employers AT Brown, got their hands on the coach, which was one actually used by Excelsior in the 1980s, from another company earlier this year. He has since then been working on it and, with help from town firms including Autopaint in Hadley, had it restored to the original design.

Mrs Price said: "We had to track down a sign writer, as Reg had them done by hand. We had to get someone from Market Drayton.

"Reg caught up with all the old drivers, they thought it was a lovely surprise too."

Ewen and Nina McLoed, who run AT Brown, will now use the restored coach for trips in the Telford area.

Mrs Price thanked them for their role in the surprise and also thanked Reg's old friends and colleagues.