Telford three-year-old enjoys a day on the buses as Arriva's VIP visitor
A "bus-mad" three-year-old from Telford who is undergoing tests for autism was treated like a VIP on a recent access-all-areas visit to the town's Arriva depot.
Tommy Atkins has been a regular visitor at the Arriva depot in Stafford Park for the last six months, which his mother has said has helped her son's development.
Rachael Atkins, 32, said: "Tommy is under assessment for autism and has been 18 months behind normal development. He has always loved the buses as he used to get them with his dad, so we thought we would incorporate his love for buses into his learning. He struggles with communication and we found by using buses it helps to get him learn to colours, numbers, speech."
She said Tommy's dad, John, took the youngster to the Arriva depot around six months ago as he was hoping to find a toy bus for his son.
"John had gone to the depot as we wanted to find a toy Arriva bus for Tommy," said Rachael, a healthcare worker and mother of five. "Andy Armstrong, the bus depot manager, said he did not have any toy buses but gave Tommy a goodie bag. John then asked if he could quickly show Tommy around."
She said instead of a quick tour, the team at Arriva "pulled out all the stops".
"They picked him up in his favourite bus, the rainbow bus, and then took him to the bus station and then onto the depot," she said. "Tommy loved it. He watched them wash the buses, sat in the driver's seat and pressed the buttons, and then they gave Tommy a 'VIP bus pass' and it has gone from there."
She said the bus-mad youngster now visits the depot once a week, and the team of drivers and workers have "become part of the family".
"He knows them all," said Rachael. "He waves to all the drivers, hugs them and we have even had them round for dinner. Andy and the rest of the team have been wonderful. And it has really helped Tommy's development.
"He is really confident and outgoing with a lot more things now and his speech has got so much clearer while his vocabulary has expanded so much."
Relief depot manager at Arriva, Andy Armstrong, said three-year-old Tommy was a "little superstar".
"He's here at least once a week. He is our little superstar VIP. Everyone knows him. He is lovely," he said.
