TWO charities will share a five figure windfall thanks to safety conscious bus staff.

First buses' Clacton depot received a safety award at the group's Internal Annual Safety Awards.

They won the accolade for best small contribution to injury prevention.

The team scooped £10,000 and will split the cash between St Helena Hospice (£7,500) and Teen Talk Harwich (£2,500).

They also picked up a trophy at the ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Kensington, London.

The winning staff from the operations and vehicle quality department include David Steele, Eddie Potter, Steve Birch, Simon Logde and Steve Hartman.

The Clacton depot team was scrutinised in its approach to safety, which included assessing their safety statistics.

Bob Dorr, managing director of First in Essex, said: "It is a great reward for the team at Clacton to perform such an outstanding achievement.

"Year on year we work hard to achieve reductions in injuries and incidents across all of our operations.

"Our aim is to ensure that safety is the number one priority for everyone. Safety is a way of life at First."