After sitting on more than 100 buses travelling over 1,000 miles across the country, a Gorleston pensioner has returned home.

Malcolm Metcalf, the man nicknamed 'The Michael Palin of Gorleston' arrived back at the Market Gates bus station in Great Yarmouth to a roaring reception by local residents who came out to greet him.

Malcolm's Epic Journey has received publicity of epic proportions – he has been followed around the country by journalists and members of the public wanting to take a selfie with the 82-year-old.

The charity challenge has so far raised more than £3,000 for East Coast Hospice.

And despite the toils of public transport – sitting on the bus and waiting for connections – he was never bored.

He said: 'I would speak to people on the bus and they would ask me why I did not have a book.

'I did not need a book, I had the company around me and the lovely views outside of the window.

'There were places I never visited before or even heard of.'

It took Malcolm four months to plan the details of his route, using his over 60s bus pass to make it all the way around the country through 30 counties.

He made sure to include contingency time in case of any missed or late buses.

But a missed bus from Weymouth to Brighton nearly affected the plans for his entire journey.

He said: 'I missed the bus by seconds and the next bus was not for another two hours. But a bus driver from another company saw this and spoke to me.

'He contacted the driver of the bus I just missed and explained to him that it was going to affect my journey down the line.

'The bus driver then invited me onboard and caught the bus I needed up. Everybody started cheering as I was able to get on the bus I needed.

'There were so many nice people like this who made my journey that much better.'

People can still donate to Malcolm's journey by going online to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/malcolmmetcalf