Sidmouth Hopper bus had a ‘phenomenal’ July, breaking all its previous passenger records.

Last year there were four days where the service transported more than 200 people.

But in July 2016 alone, thanks to the service’s new bigger and better bus, there were 15 days where it had more than 200 passengers, two of which exceeded 300.

Councillor John Dyson, Hopper co-ordinator, said each year the numbers had gone up but the number of people using the service had been flattening out recently.

He added: “July for the Hopper was a phenomenal month – we broke all our records.

“The bigger bus has proved its worth time and again. We have not had the overcrowding problem we had before.”

Cllr Dyson added he would like to thank Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce and other businesses in the town for the support they had given the Hopper Bus.

He said one of the most popular topics brought up in a questionnaire, on the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan, was transport.

Cllr Dyson added there had been a number of positive comments about the Hopper, which he was quite chuffed about.

He said: “We took the plunge and got a bigger bus with twice the capacity and the numbers have shot up, partly because the weather has been brilliant.

“I can only express very grateful thanks to everyone for their support. The amount of donations we are getting is also encouraging.

“I am not going to put a number to it but we are talking a four-figure number.

“It is going quite well and is pretty consistent. The most common coin that goes in the box is a pound coin.”

“At least we were right to go to a bigger bus.”