ARRIVA is offering free travel for military and ex-military personnel on Armed Forces Day.

Taking place on Saturday, the day is a chance for the public to show support for those involved in the armed forces.

To mark the occasion, the bus operator is offering free travel which is supported by many Arriva employees who have served in the military in the past.

One of those employees is Colin Stewart who used to be a tank commander, but now he is operations supervisor at Arriva’s Runcorn depot.

Colin served for 24 years he was in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

Originally from Edinburgh, the 49-year-old took part in tours of duty in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Now, he is the Widnes British Legion Branch Chairman, a role which allows him to help veterans that need assistance with day-to-day problems.

(Image: Supplied)

He said that working for Arriva allows him to use all his skills and experience as serviceman to make things better for passengers.

Colin said: “When on tours, I enjoyed making a difference to people’s lives for the better, as we were there to assist in keeping peace and help local communities and their children to have a better future.

“Having worked my way up the ranks, I’ve got experience working with people and engaging with multiple agencies to complete daily tasks. I find that working in my current role I must engage with the drivers, managers, and the engineering department.

"We all work together to provide the best service we can to the public so they can get to and from their destinations, be it for work or pleasure.

“I find that the armed force community is sometimes forgotten about. We still have serving soldiers all over the world doing difference tasks, which often entails soldiers being away from home for long periods of time.

“We need to support them when they come back to allow them to be integrated into civilian life. Armed forces personnel can offer vast amounts of experience and have transferable skills.”

Serving military personnel (both regular and reservists) veterans and cadets will be allowed free travel on Arriva services all day on Armed Forces Day.

When boarding the bus, they will need to show the driver their Armed Forces identification card, Veteran identification card or Ministry of Defence-issued Veteran’s Badge.