A PUBLIC transport service taking visitors through the scenic beauty of the North York Moors saved hundreds of thousands of miles of car travel last year.

A study of passengers on the national park authority's Moorsbus network showed that a third of people had chosen to leave their car behind and take the bus.

Researchers estimated the length of car journeys saved as 700,000 miles.

Tourism and transport officer, Bill Breakell, said: "This is good news for the communities and the environment of the North York Moors. Some of the problem of increasing car traffic has been removed, but at the same time access has been improved, especially for those without a car."

Despite an overall reduction in visitors to the national park last year because of foot-and-mouth, the Moorsbus service saw an increase in passenger numbers.