A family-owned coach company which is based in the Grantham area has been allowed to resume services following a government u-turn.

Osbournby-based A&P Travel was forced to cancel services when the government's Cabinet Office advised that private hire coach trips in England were only permitted for a single household or bubble, with trips for people from different households not allowed until May 17.

However, after the Government made a U-turn on Wednesday, the coach operator was allowed to resume services straight away.

A&P Travel had previously told customers it had had to suspend services despite recently running five trips successfully since lockdown conditions had eased.

The post continued: "It must be noted that this change of government guidelines comes "beyond the last hour" and causes a bitter blow to our already beleaguered coach touring industry.

"Sector specific support is still not available and now we face the inability to trade for another 4 weeks without income.

"Quite what we have done to deserve this continued frustration, we continue to wonder! We find this Government decision to be absolutely ludicrous and the way that our industry continues to be treated beggars belief "

A&P Travel, which was set up by Paul and Alan Cartwright in 2006, then said it would have to contact 520 customers to try and reschedule as many trips as possible.

Customers were also told: "We were not looking to profit from these April/early May excursions but to rebuild confidence in our product and assure you that it is safe to travel onboard our vehicles. Please rest assured that Coach travel is safe.

"I'm so sorry for any disappointment caused by this decision but we ask for your continued support throughout these unbelievably challenging times.

Keep on keeping the faith. All will become good again (at some point)." On Wednesday, customers were then told "some good news for a change." A fresh post on their Facebook page said : "After some late night phone conversations, numerous emails and another night of no sleep......Thankfully common sense has eventually prevailed. "This morning we have received official confirmation from our governing trade body, The Confederation of Passenger Transport, that our programme of day excursions can resume with immediate effect. "I won't go into all the full details but suffice to say assurance from the relevant governmental departments has been received." "Obviously we're delighted at that news " It meant the company could resume trips yesterday (Thursday) with Crome/Sheringham for customers from the Grantham/ Sleaford area. On Sunday, will be A&P Travel's first trip of the year to Whitby & The Yorkshire Moors on Sunday "Sleaford/Grantham area departure). The post explained: "All previous Covid protocols remain in place for the safety of our staff and customers alike. "Please rest assured that coach travel (especially with A&P) remains a relaxing and safer method of travel than many other forms of public transport. "Our office staff are on hand and more than happy to accept any booking requests you may have for the future. "I'd like to publicly thank the Operations Team at the Confederation of Passenger Transport for their continued, determined efforts in resolving this ludicrous situation. "As we said yesterday, we really need and value your support. We're getting there slowly and we'll all eventually get back to what we love doing best. "Now is the time enjoy life, not just exist!

Keep on keeping the faith and as we continue to state:

ALL WILL BECOME GOOD AGAIN "