THE Government has chosen a coach service between Chippenham and London as the first in the country to run wheelchair accessible vehicles.

The Department of Transport has announced that the National Express service has been chosen as the nation's pilot.

The first specially built coaches will start running in March.

Four have been built and all will run on route 403 between Bath, Chippenham, Heathrow Airport and London.

National Express spokesman Bryan Bannister said the route had been chosen out of 1,200.

He said: "Out of all the routes it was decided it was perfect because it provides a variety of different stops.

"We need to see how this coach works at bus stations, and at roadside stops in a small town, so this route provides a perfect trial."

The special coaches are expected to run each day on the Chippenham route which is served by 11 National Express coaches a day, operating from The Bridge pick up point.

All coaches will have to be accessible by wheelchair-bound passengers by 2005.

National Express has been working with the government to come up with a workable system.

Mr Bannister said: "We will be working very closely with local disabled groups, and we want plenty of feedback from people who use this pilot scheme.

"There are so many questions that need to be answered and which we can't just guess which is why the trial is going ahead."

The company has been given special permission by the government to run the new coaches which are longer than currently allowed by law.