MAXINE GORDON flicks through a York collector's album of buses from 50 years ago

DAVID SEMPERS is in his Seventies but worked in transport for many years.

Which explains his captivating collection of photographs of buses in York dating back half a century.

"It was just a hobby," explains the 71-year-old who lives in Acomb. "I started collecting photographs of transport and York from second-hand shops.

"I used to be a lorry driver after I left work at the council. I've worked all my life in and around York as a road compressor and a gritter: when the lorries were called out for gritting, I would be on the back, shovelling grit on to the road."

The base was at Foss Islands, where Morrisons now has a store. When it snowed, the transport manager would ring around and get staff in to man the gritters. David would cycle there, ready for some hard graft to make the road safe for traffic.

Over the years, he has amassed scores of black and white photographs of buses and lorries – but none of gritters. "I'd love to have some pictures of them."

The pictures we are sharing today, show an array of different buses that shuttled citizens around the city and beyond. There are single deckers and as well as double deckers – some of which seem too big for some of the tight, narrow streets of York's historic centre.

How things have changed!