THE Wigglybus, the innovative Pewsey Vale bus service that is providing a vital link for villagers, has been nominated for a national award in the transport equivalent of the Oscars.

It has made it to a shortlist of four in the Bus in the Countryside Award section of the fifth annual Bus Industry Awards, which will be announced at a ceremony in London on November 21.

The bus runs hourly and wiggles its way through the countryside from Devizes to Burbage, picking up passengers who have phoned to request it calls for them.

The project has been running for more than a year and is a partnership between the Pewsey Vale Transport Appraisal Group, Wiltshire County Council, Kennet District Council and Hatts Coaches of Chippenham.

The service has proved popular. On just one day last month, the service carried 104 passengers. The travel club associated with it, which provides discount fares for a small annual fee, now has more than 300 members.

Wigglybus driver Doug Robins, from Manningford Abbotts, said: "It's the only one like it in the country and it is completely different from any other kind of bus driving. We have a sort of a timetable, but we respond to phone calls from users, so we are not running around in an empty bus half the time.

"It also means people can get around more easily. I take cleaners from one village to another. I don't know how else they'd get to their jobs. And families who hardly ever see each other are now able to pop on the Wigglybus whenever they want."