A 24/7 COACH services ferrying people from Taunton to Bristol or Plymouth has just carried its 150,000th passenger - less than a year after its launch.

And passengers on the South West Falcon on Saturday joined in the celebrations with free travel and chocolates.

And one of them, Chris Stafford, was identified as the actual 150,000th passenger, so he and his partner, Vanda, were both given a month of unlimited travel on Falcon and a night away at the Holiday Inn in either Plymouth or Bristol.

Bob Dennison, managing director of Stagecoach South West, said: "Reaching this milestone so soon after launch is absolutely fantastic and goes to show how successful Falcon has become in a short space of time.

"I’d like to thank all of our staff who keep our coaches running 24/7, and all of our customers who choose to travel with us both now and in the future.”

Launched on February 14, 2016, at a cost of £2.5 million, the South West Falcon is the first dedicated 24/7 coach service to connect major locations across the South West.

The service runs 19 journeys a day, seven days a week, between Plymouth, Exeter, Taunton, Bristol Airport and Bristol city centre.

All eight coaches feature a distinctive, stylish livery and have free wi-fi, power charging, air conditioning and leather seats.

The Falcon timetable runs hourly from early morning until late evening, moving to two-hourly overnight.

Since December, passengers can also make local journeys on Falcon, for example between Exeter and Cullompton or Churchill and Bristol Airport.

You can view the timetable by clicking here.