An artist’s impression of how the new coaches will look although this was still to be confirmed at the time of going to press.

After years of buying mid-engined Volvos, Shearings has revealed it is to buy 45 rear-engined Setras – including tri-axles – in its first new coach order for three years.

It is also to resurrect the Wallace Arnold brand, retire its Miami blue livery for a new, as yet undisclosed scheme, and put some of the new vehicles into its National Holidays fleet.

The new Setras will be on a seven-year operating lease and will lead to the withdrawal of an equivalent number of the company’s oldest Volvos, sold to Evobus, in Germany, in part-exchange.

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