A CLUB dedicated to perpetuating the memory of the old Darlington-based United bus company celebrates its 20th anniversary with a special event next month.

The United Enthusiasts' Club, which has published a monthly newsletter for members since it was founded in 1984, is organising a road run and vehicle rally on Sunday, July 11.

The road run from Bishop Auckland to Sunderland will involve eight former United or associated types and the rally, which will be extended to include other vehicles, takes place at the Stadium of Light, home of Sunderland FC, from noon to 4pm.

United Automobile Services, founded in East Anglia in 1912, eventually concentrated its activities in the North-East and Yorkshire and once ran more than 1,000 buses and coaches in a huge area stretching from Berwick and Carlisle to Scarborough and Bridlington.

After bus deregulation in 1986, the company had a succession of owners and its familiar red fleet colour finally disappeared when its vehicles and routes were taken over by Arriva.

It established a headquarters in Grange Road, Darlington, in 1932 but the office block has been demolished and the site of the workshops was occupied by a Safeway store.

Its depots at Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Redcar, Stockton, Loftus and Richmond still exist under Arriva, but there were once others at Northallerton, Stokesley, Pickering and Ripon as well as a tiny garage holding one bus at Hawes.

The enthusiasts' club organises meetings and trips on preserved buses.

In 2002, working with owners the Aycliffe and District Bus Preservation Society, it organised a trip by a 60-year-old United double decker to its former haunts in the Richmond and Catterick areas.

Club chairman Alan Silcock, of Saltburn, stressed that the event at the Stadium of Light on July 11 was open to non-members and added: "We have about 178 members at the moment and this could be an opportunity to recruit more, perhaps to push the number up to about 200. There will be a slight reduction in the membership fee on the day."

The road run, starting from the Arriva depot in Bishop Auckland at 10.30, will have eight vehicles including three owned by the Aycliffe society, a Matador recovery truck and three modern double deckers operated by Arriva, which supports the activities of the club and is sponsoring the 20th anniversary event.

These and other vehicles will be on display in the lower car park at the Stadium of Light, where other attractions will include static displays, stalls and a free entry painting competition for children with a chance to paint a bus used in the Heartbeat television series.