SOUTHAMPTON-BASED staff of bus operator FirstGroup plc are celebrating after picking up two major awards.

After triumphing in First Bus’s inaugural South West and Wales’ Excellence Awards last year, First Southampton’s engineering manager Neil Moreno and marketing and roadside publicity team were each named runners-up in the Be First awards, which were open to 110,000 staff in the UK and North America.

Neil’s runner-up prize in the Be First “Accountable for Performance” award category comes after he took the Engineer of the Year title at First Bus’s Excellence Awards last year.

First Hampshire’s Marketing and Roadside Publicity Team – made up of Steven Spilsbury, Mike Thake, Simon Newbrook and Mark Berry – followed up their First Bus Excellence Award for Innovation and Change with the runners-up prize in the Be First “Delivering Our Vision” team award category.

The recognition is for the work they have undertaken in developing marketing materials for First Hampshire’s three iconic bus brands, including Southampton’s City Red routes and Eclipse E1/E2 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) services between Fareham and Gosport.

Chrissie Bainbridge, First Southampton’s general manager and business performance director for First Hampshire, Dorset & Berkshire, said: “This is an outstanding achievement for both Neil and our marketing team. They all work tirelessly carrying out tasks which are crucial to the efficiency and smooth running of our business.”