A BUS driver hailed as the ‘best in town’ has put his popularity down to old-fashioned good manners.

Kenneth Devitt, 51, was crowned champion driver by members of the Blackburn with Darwen Older People’s Forum after impressing passengers with his friendly and polite approach.

MORE TOP STORIES:

After picking up his certificate at the group’s AGM, he revealed the secret of his success.

Mr Devitt, from Blackburn, who has been driving buses for 15 years, joined Darwen Coaches in April.

Since then, he’s made such an impact that members of the forum voted him top of their list.

He said: “I was shocked when I heard that I had won the award.

“I feel honoured and I really appreciate all the people who voted for me.

“I think it’s about old-fashioned manners – saying hello and being polite.

“It doesn’t cost anything and can make all the difference to the passengers.”

The long-running contest always receives a huge response from members of the forum, which represents the interests of over-50s in the borough.

Information officer Misbaqh Ahmed said: “We publicise the competition in our newsletter and ask members to collect tickets for the journeys they take when the drivers are worthy of recognition.

“The tickets have the drivers’ numbers on and we receive lots of entries – envelopes filled with hundreds of tickets.

“The main comments we received about Kenneth is that he provides a friendly service, is always smiling and makes all his passengers feel welcome.

“He tends to drive the same routes, so people have really got to know him.”

Mr Devitt said: “We’re only a small firm, but we do the job properly.

“For me, it’s about being polite and just being normal.

“We get a lot of older people using our buses and, you never know, they might not have talked to anyone else all week.

“I love my job and the best bit about it is the diverse range of characters you meet.

“They are always very nice and very interesting.”