Redundant coach workers head off to life in the sun

Workers at Scarborough-based Plaxton's expected to be going no further than the back garden this summer after becoming losing their jobs at the Eastfield factory.

They could not believe their ears when their old bosses got back in touch –asking if they would be interested in jetting off to California.

For those with the right qualifications 10 weeks in the sunshine was up for grabs, working for Alexander Dennis – Plaxton's parent company – at one of its US plants.

Now six ex-employees who made the grade are jetting off to California and will be put up in a hotel for the duration of their stay.

Daytime temperatures are expected to top 38C, and they will be only 45 minutes' drive from the bright lights of Sacramento, and only a two-hour journey from San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

One of the six, Danny Wedge, 23, said: "It all just happened really quickly. I had just signed on with an employment agency and two days later the letter dropped through the door.

"I am still trying to get my head around it but I'm really looking forward to it. I've never worked away before so it's going to be a new thing for me."

Plaxton's managing director Alan Atkinson said: "We heard they had a requirement for staff to finish a job, and rather than recruit locally, we asked them about taking some of our guys.

"They were the first people we thought about. We wanted to see if we could get them some temporary work. Obviously, what went on was sad. We were happy to do it."