IT MIGHT once have tootled into Tooting or wandered through Wandsworth, but Brian Jennings' prized double-deck bus has swapped the streets of London for the open spaces of North Yorkshire.

Mr Jennings, who has always wanted to own an example of the classic Routemaster bus, was delighted when he learned his bid to buy one for preservation had succeeded.

A total of 2,760 Routemasters flowed off the production line, the last in 1968, and they became as much an icon of London as Big Ben or Buckingham Palace, taken for granted by passengers but constantly photographed by tourists and enthusiasts.

The buses have faithfully served the capital for almost 50 years, but the last remaining examples are due to be withdrawn from revenue-earning routes early in 2005 in favour of modern designs.

There is no shortage of admirers waiting in the wings to snap up a piece of transport history and this particular Routemaster, 30ft long and 8ft wide, is set to have a big impact on the life of Mr Jennings - a lawyer with North Yorkshire County Council at Northallerton - and his family.

Because there is such a demand to own one, the company that bought up most of them - Ensignbus of Purfleet, Essex - agreed to offer to sell 32 to people who would guarantee to preserve them.

Mr Jennings said: "More than 400 people applied and I was lucky enough to get one.

"I collected it at a special presentation ceremony and it's now living in North Yorkshire."

Although the bus can be driven with up to eight passengers on an ordinary car licence, Mr Jennings decided it would be sensible to get a full public commercial vehicle licence and passed his test at the first attempt in November.

The Routemaster, which can carry up to 72 passengers, will be preserved in its final livery and Mr Jennings hopes to find time to use it in connection with fundraising for his local group of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

He said: "I'm really thrilled to be the proud owner of a Routemaster. It's been a lifelong ambition and something I never thought would happen.

"I drove it up from Essex and it's been on a couple of runs around town. It turns heads wherever it goes, especially here in North Yorkshire."

The prototype Routemaster for London Transport was unveiled in 1954 but there was a gap of almost five years before the first of a long production run entered public service.

Development was undertaken by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC), which also built lorries, and Park Royal Vehicles, who produced the distinctive body.

It was one of the last bus designs to incorporate a traditional half cab layout for the driver, who sat beside the engine, and an open rear platform which made it easy for passengers to hop on and off in busy London conditions under the eye of the conductor.

Routemasters were popular with garage staff for ease of maintenance and engine changing, compared with modern buses, and some of the survivors still on London streets are 40 years old, establishing what is believed to be a record for longevity. Some were specially painted and decorated for the Queen's silver and golden jubilees.

At first, the only provincial operator to buy Routemasters was the Gateshead-based Northern General, which used a fleet of 50 with front entrance doors on routes including that between Darlington and Newcastle for several years from 1964.

As withdrawals later began to reduce the size of the London fleet, however, second-hand examples found their way to other companies all over Britain, who repainted the buses in their own colours