Heroes from the Armed Forces in Hitchin will receive free bus travel on Stagecoach East services, on 6 June – the 80th anniversary of D-Day - as the operator offers its gratitude for their service.

As part of the bus operator's ongoing commitment to support the Armed Forces, free travel will be available on all its local bus services to serving personnel in uniform or with an ID card, Veterans wearing medals or with Veterans ID, and cadets attending events.

The D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 were the largest seaborne invasion in history. Along with the associated airborne operations, D-Day marked the beginning of the liberation of France and western Europe.

Stagecoach is a member of the Armed Forces Covenant – a promise that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy, and society they serve with their lives.

Darren Roe, Managing Director of Stagecoach East, added: "As a group, Stagecoach is proud to show its support for our military personnel past and present. Many of our colleagues here in the East are themselves veterans, and so we are particularly aware of the tremendous sacrifices that were made for our freedom 80 years ago.

"At Stagecoach, we often talk about being at the heart of our communities, but it is the men and women of our armed services who put their lives on the line to protect those communities.

"We all owe a debt of gratitude to those who put themselves forward to defend our freedoms and way of living, and so we are proud to do our bit on this very special day."