RESIDENTS of Whitchurch and Overton are set to benefit from an increased Sunday bus service.

Stagecoach has announced that the 76 route, which runs along the B3400 between Andover and Basingstoke, will now run hourly on Sundays.

The change sees the service expand from four buses to ten buses a day.

The move comes following the official opening of the Bombay Sapphire Distillery, in Laverstoke, and will be funded in part by Hampshire County Council through a financial agreement with the company.

Council chiefs hope that the upgraded service will provide visitors with easy access to the attraction during weekends and bank holidays. Whitchurch town councillor John Buckley said: “This is very welcome. As well as serving the new gin distillery, it will make choosing public transport to use the facilities at the Leisure Park and in Basingstoke much more viable.”

The first bus will run from Andover and arrive in Whitchurch Bere Hill at nine minutes past every hour, stopping in Overton at 20 minutes past every hour. Buses running in the other direction from Basingstoke will start at 9.15am, arriving at Overton at either 42 or 52 past every hour, before reaching Whitchurch at either 53 or three minutes past every hour.

For more information on the changes, visit stagecoachbus.

com.