A WOMAN has described how her life changed when she attended a bus company's driver recruitment day.

Less than four months later, Linda Tillson is a fully-fledged driver.

The mother-of-two, from Ushaw Moor, near Durham, previously worked in food and DIY retail, and as an office secretary.

But when she saw an advert for the driver recruitment event, she decided to give it a go, and has not looked back.

"I had been thinking about a career in bus driving for myself, so I went along to the open day to find out more, and I realised that driving was something I could do well, and that I wanted to make it a career.

"I trained on a vehicle that was 42ft long, which was a bit daunting to start with, but you soon get the hang of it and now I feel confident driving any size of vehicle."

Mrs Tillson has been driving on 15 routes in the Durham area for the last five weeks, initially on 31-seater buses.

"It was quite testing at first, but when you get to know the routes, it gets easier with time," said Mrs Tillson, who said she is already building up a rapport with some of her passengers.

Her job has even rubbed off on the eldest of her two sons, Sam, 13, who is keen to follow in his mother's footsteps.

The next recruitment fair is at Arriva's Doxford International Business Park headquarters, in Admiral Way, Sunderland, on Sunday, from 10am to 2pm.

Shuttle buses will run from Durham bus station on the hour between 10am and 1pm.

Further information is available on 0191-520 4124.