A NEW trial range of coaches to make travelling easier for wheelchair users was launched in Wiltshire on Monday.

The coaches, which run from Bath to London via Heathrow, are the first in the UK.

Wheelchair access will be available at Sainsbury's and outside the Tourist Information Centre in Chippenham, at Box railway bridge and Rudloe Hall Hotel.

The coaches are designed to accommodate travellers using wheelchairs and have facilities for other disabled people, as required by the Disability Discrimination Act.

The programme is a partnership between the DTLR, coachbuilder Transbus Plaxton; National Express, which runs the service; and First, which will operate the vehicles.

"This is an excellent initiative. It is an overdue facility that, if successful, we hope will open up a new world of travel for wheelchair users," said Nigel Bruce-Robertson, Wiltshire County Council's co-ordinator for passenger transport.