A piece of transport history was made on Sunday as the world's oldest operational trolley bus got back into gear after 45 years.

The Copenhagen No 5 NESA trolleybus rolled back the years as it swung into action and gave passengers a lift around the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville.

Built in 1926 the No 5 had last picked up a paying passenger in Denmark way back in 1964.

The electricity powered vehicle, which is different to trams as it is steered, had been at Carlton Colville for the last 40 years after it was rescued from the scrap heap in 1965 by Don Jones.

On Sunday Mr Jones, 80 and from Essex, climbed aboard the No 5 and was met by the two museum volunteers who had been instrumental in restoring the trolleybus to full working order, Jonathan Ward and David Pearson.

The No 5 roared back into action as part of 100 Years of the Trolleybus event at the museum to mark the anniversary of the first time the vehicle entered service in the UK in Yorkshire in 1911.

In March 1972 the last electric trolleybus carried its final passengers in Britain.

However on Saturday delighted visitors could not wait to clamber aboard the No 5 to relive the days when trolleybuses ruled the nation's streets.

The phoenix from the ashes type scenes at the museum were also a tribute to two East Anglian companies who had been instrumental in building the O-type trolleybus, one of five built for a Danish transport company.

Its chassis was built by the Garrett engineering factory in Leiston and its 60hp motor was constructed by Bull Motors of Ipswich.

The No 5 could hold 26 seated passengers and could reach speeds of up to 20mph.

On seeing the trolleybus trundle around the museum after 45 years on the sideines, Mr Jones said: 'I never thought I would live to see it back in service.'

David Jordan, chairman of the East Anglia Transport Museum, said: 'The No 5 is an important part of the jigsaw in the history of trolleybuses.'