A BUBBLY bus driver from down under has been named one of the best in the country.

Brighton and Hove Bus Company driver Lynne Cornect has finished as the top female driver and 15th overall in the national Bus Driver of the Year.

Lynne started as a bus driver with the company in January 2012 having visited and fallen in love with Brighton and Hove during a visit from her native Australia a year earlier.

Having had experience driving trucks and a customers services career in her homeland, she decided to start a new career in the city as a bus driver.

Company bosses said four years on, Lynne's "sheer love of bus driving" has not waned, regularly greeting her customers with a sunny smile and a “G’day mate” and has even been known to have a sing-a-long with them.

The Bus Driver of the Year competition was first held in 1967 with 114 contestants competing at Blackpool this year including nine women and four Brighton and Hove drivers taking part in a Passenger Carrying Vehicle theory, Certificate of Professional Competence test and a practical test featuring ten obstacles.

Lynne said: "It was fantastic to take part in this national competition and to represent the company - and to finish top UK woman driver is amazing.

"I feel really proud and would like to thank all my colleagues for their support. I'm really delighted."