IT'S as much an icon of London as Big Ben or Buckingham Palace, but the days of the eye-catching Routemaster double-decker are numbered.

After decades of trundling through the streets of the capital filled with commuters and tourists, the unmistakable bus is finally to be retired next year.

But there's no shortage of admirers waiting in the wings to snap up a slice of transport history - and now one of the vehicles is about to have a big impact on the life of Brian Jennings.

Mr Jennings, 54, a lawyer with North Yorkshire County Council, who lives in Northallerton, jumped at the chance of owning a big red bus all of his very own.

Naturally, it comes complete with trademark bell, half-cab and an open rear platform that must have seen thousands of passengers hop on and off during its 40 years of work.

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

Mr Jennings said: "More than 400 people applied and I was lucky enough to get one. I collected it at a 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 PCV licence - and he passed his test at the first attempt last month.

The vehicle will be preserved in its final livery and Mr Jennings hopes to find time to use it in connection with fundraising for the local group of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

The bus fanatic 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, and it turns heads wherever it goes - especially here in North Yorkshire."