A Gloucestershire coach operator has become the first company in the country to receive a 100 per cent rating from National Express.

Bennetts Coaches from Gloucester have become the first of 25 plus companies who work alongside National Express to achieve the grading during its 12 years of operation.

The evaluation assesses each of the businesses that run services on behalf of National Express to ensure they are meeting the high standards set by the UK's largest coach operator.

Scores are awarded across 18 measures including reliability and punctuality of service, vehicle audit, safety, driver performance and customer satisfaction.

Ed Rickard, Service Delivery Director at National Express, said: "Every month we check that each of our 25 plus partner operators are doing all the right things to ensure our customers have a reliable, safe and positive experience with us.

"We set incredibly high standards with operators coming very close but Bennetts Coaches is the first to hit a full 100 per cent in 12 years of running the evaluation.

"I was delighted to be able to congratulate them in person on a recent visit."

Bennetts Coaches have been operating in partnership with National Express for nine years and currently operate on eight routes serving various destinations including Birmingham and London.