National Express West Midlands’ famous Bussy Bear to be auctioned
Bus enthusiasts could be in with a chance to own a unique piece of transport history as a Big Sleuth bear is being put up for auction.
National Express West Midlands’ famous Bussy Bear was part of Birmingham’s 2017 'Big Sleuth' bear trail.
Now, having done a 10-week shift at Bearwood Interchange, Bussy will be auctioned off on October 12 to raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital charity.
The Big Sleuth’s predecessor, The Big Hoot, raised more than £500,000 for the charity at auction, and The Big Sleuth aims to do the same.
Bussy was designed by National Express West Midlands’ Blake Cotterill and beautifully painted by the bus operators’ in-house Paint Shop team, led by Frank Palmer.
Blake said: "My challenge was to make the design relevant to bus travel, but not be a piece of advertising.
“I wanted to reference Birmingham buses’ famous heritage, so I incorporated the much-loved navy and cream livery from the old Corporation.
“Bussy is a bus driver, but he’s also a bus. I designed him to look as if he’d been riveted together, like an old vehicle. When Frank and the Paint Shop guys saw this, they decided to use actual rivets - it’s made him look so realistic.”
Anyone interested in bidding for the bear can do so either in person or without attending the auction, or should go online to www.thebigsleuth.co.uk/auction.
