Eastern Counties KUB 552V - Dec 1995

Sunday 31 December 1995 – After Eastern Counties Omnibus Company ceased parking its ‘Mildenhall’ outstation vehicles at Hurdle Drove Farm between West Row and Beck Row (possibly defined as ‘West Row’ outstation?) it began using the site of P&F Safepac/Safepac International in Fred Dannatt Road (at the corner of James Carter Road) on the outer edge of Mildenhall’s Industrial Estate. The site, unchanged today with a recognisable building, was a total improvement on the muddy and wet Hurdle Drove Farm as it had a firm surface built to handle Safepac’s HGV removal vans. ECOC was privatised in a management buy-out in February 1987 but in July 1994 the company was sold to the GRT Group who in June 1995 merged with Badgerline to form FirstBus. Under this ownership the company has inherited cascaded vehicles from group affiliated companies in the urban conurbations. Sometimes these arrivals were pressed into service in their former owners livery as was KUB 552V which had arrived from Yorkshire Rider. It was a Plaxton Supreme bodied Leyland Leopard that was new in January 1980 to the West Yorkshire Road Car Company as their 2578.