Routemaster buses taking visitors to 'ghost village'

Vintage Routemaster buses are to transport visitors to a Salisbury Plain village abandoned during the Second World War. In 1943, the 150 people living in Imber were asked to move out so that the village could be turned into a military defence area. Public access to Imber, which remains the UK's biggest Military of Defence (MoD) training base, is only granted on up to 50 days each year.

The annual bus service, set up to raise money for charity in 2009, will operate for one day only on Saturday, taking people to the 'ghost village'. Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill and Imber in the County of Wiltshire, said: “For the 15th year we are welcoming passengers aboard one of the quirkiest bus services in the country. "They can visit places they can’t normally access from the luxury of buses old and new, including some open-top double deckers.

" He said the service attracted people just for the novelty of the beautiful ride across the Plain. "Imber is the most extraordinary place because it's completely silent and evocative of years gone past; you can imagine the place with Victorian and Edwardian kids, but there's nobody there," he said. "I don't know anybody who's been there once, who doesn't say, 'that place is etched on my mind as a really memorable place to go'.

" The 39 old and new Routemaster buses, all driven by volunteers, will provide a frequent service during the day from Warminster railway station to Imber on military roads rarely open to the public. Passengers can then.