IT may be more than half a century since it rolled off the production line, but a Leyland PS1 coach is to clock up thousands more miles as the focal point of a service on the North York Moors, offering visitors a trip down memory lane.

The bus was the first commercial vehicle to be built by Leyland after the Second World War and has remained in the ownership of local family firm John Smith and Son ever since.

The new service will run every half hour from Sutton Bank, on the edge of the national park, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays during the summer, complementing the daily Moorbus network which brings thousands of visitors to the area each year.

National park tourism officer, Bill Breakell, said: "As the North York Moors National Park celebrates its 50th anniversary, this new heritage bus service will take people back in time and enable them to enjoy a visit to the Sutton Bank area in a very different way.

"However, we also want to ensure that visitors appreciate the comfort, reliability and energy- efficiency of modern buses which are used on the 200 services which operate every day in the national park."

The bus will drop visitors off inside the ramparts of the newly-discovered Iron Age Hill Fort, a 60-acre site which is believed to date from 400BC.

The Moorsbus system has proved incredibly popular since its introduction, bringing £250,000 to the moors economy last year and helping to counter the devastating effects of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Mr Breakell said: "The bus service also aims to encourage those with a car to try a more sustainable form of travel during their visit."