IT has come a long distance.

But a rare double-decker bus not used in Oxfordshire since the 1980s is finally home after 31 years away.

Oxford Bus Museum in Long Hanborough has brought back the AEC regent double-decker bus OFC 395 to be restored, after it was previously a tourist attraction in Long Beach, California, in the United States.

The vehicle was one of 53 high-bridge buses acquired by Oxford Motor Services between 1949 and 1951 and operated in the city for 12 years.

It was later acquired by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment in Aldermaston, where it was used for staff transport.

In the past few weeks it has completed an overland and sea journey of 4,750 miles, travelling to West Oxfordshire from Mayville, in New York State, United States.

In a statement the museum said: "As the picture show, there’s going to be a considerable amount of work required to get the bus restored to our usual high standard of presentation.

"However there was relief when it was driven off the low loader under its own power.

"We then discovered that the brakes need attention."

The first step in its restoration will be to find out what is missing and investigate the state of the chassis, the museum added.

It is hoped missing parts, such as the roof top vents, light fittings, electrical control box and roller blind destination gear, can be sourced from from a sister bus that is currently being used as a café in La Motte du Caire, near Lyons, in France.

Museum staff said it was likely to be "a long term project".

The bus can now been seen whenever the museum is open, but the public cannot board it as part of the back platform is missing.

According to the museum, it first ended up in America after being painted red and passed off as a London bus.

It was then acquired a few years ago by its present owner, who drove it across America to its present location in Mayville, New York close to Lake Erie and the USA/Canadian border.