Michael Willson proved he's just the ticket when he scooped the Bus Driver of the Year title.

The driver for First Essex was among 105 finalists from 3,000 entrants. Over a weekend their bus driving skills were tested in Blackpool.

And just to make things a bit trickier, they had to complete the tasks in a bus they had never driven before.

"I only had about 30 seconds to familiarise myself with the bus before the competition started," Mr Willson said.

Then he had to take the vehicle through obstacle courses, perform manoeuvres and stop the vehicle within a centimetre of marks on the ground.

With the speedo covered up, he had to drive the bus at 15mph all the time under the watchful eye of the judges and hundreds of spectators.

Mr Willson, 33, of Coggeshall Road, Bradwell near Braintree, reckoned the speed test was the toughest, but he was a mere half-a-mile-an-hour off the target.

He was determined to improve on his scores for 2003 and 2002 of eighth and 97th respectively.

The driver, who often drives the Stansted to Colchester link coach, came away from the competition with the main title and eight trophies.