COLCHESTER’S park and ride scheme has opened this morning.

The first of a fleet of five buses left the £6.2million facility at Cuckoo Farm at 7am.

Rodney Bass, Essex County Councillor for Highways and Transportation, Anne Turrell, borough councillor for Mile End, and Gazette chief reporter Andrea Collitt were among the first passengers.

See tomorrow’s Gazette for full coverage and how the bus fared in the peak traffic during our own time trial.