MAGIC moments for a group of soccer-mad local youngsters who went on a victory lap aboard the world's most famous bus.

Within 48 hours of Manchester United's treble-winning heroes' homecoming victory tour in front of 750,000 ecstatic supporters, Leigh and Tyldesley youngsters followed in their hallowed footsteps aboard the very same open-topped First Bus still decked-out with victory stickers.

With the bus's top deck safety rails rewelded after United's stars fractured them in their ecstatic homecoming, the tour continued still with the 2-1 Euro Cup scoreline displayed in the route number window.

Busmen John Shepherd, Chris Stott and Gareth Hughes laid-on the never-to-be-forgotten treat with the sanction of bosses at First Bus's Bolton depot where the 27 year-old Leyland Atlantis is garaged.

"Where did Giggsy sit?" piped-up a small voice as the excited youngsters went for their trip of a lifetime.

"I'm sitting where Alex Ferguson sat," beamed another, while a third went looking for Dwight Yorke's discarded cigar wrappings.

Mind you the tour of Bolton didn't go down well with everyone. The odd stone, a bit of spit and a few not really victory vees were par for the course in Wanderers' land.

And bus driver John Shepherd, of Kings Crescent, Tyldesley, whose daughter Elizabeth and her brother Gareth lapped-up the top deck tour, said: "I thought it was too good a chance to be missed before the United stickers were taken off, and the bosses were only too happy to let us use the bus.

"The kids will remember it for the rest of their lives."

Pictured: Drivers John and Gareth line-up with Kirsty and Carl Stott from Dangerous Corner, and Tyldesley brothers and sisters Gareth and Elizabeth, Josh and Rowan Gomm and Joe and Dan Hill.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.