A coach firm has given the Isle of Sheppey a double-decker bus to help feed residents.

Organisers are now trying to raise £12,000 to convert it into a travelling community supermarket and cafe and get it repainted and sign-written.

Sheppey Community Development Forum, created by Oasis Academy founder Steve Chalke, is behind the project.

Tim Lambkin, who runs Sheppey-based Travelmasters, was approached for advice and ended up donating the secondhand Volvo previously used by Transport for London. He said: "We are glad to help. It's our way of giving something back to the community."

The 2004 vehicle is now in his depot in Dorset Road, Sheerness, being serviced.

Mr Chalke announced the deal at a forum meeting on Tuesday . He said: "The Forum had been talking about running its own community bus on the Island for a while. Oasis is already involved with the Wandsworth Food Bus in London and it seemed a good idea for Sheppey, too. The academy already helps provide food for many families on the Island in association with food banks."

He added: "We went to Tim to get some advice and were stunned when he came back a week later to say he had found a bus, bought it and was giving it to us as a gift."

The plan is to create an onboard community supermarket downstairs where families can buy affordable fresh and nutritious food at a fraction of normal prices. It has been suggested access could be via joining a club for a minimal monthly fee to help cover running costs. Much of the food would come from existing food banks and supermarkets.

Mr Chalke said it would help relive pressure on stretched budgets and remove the "stigma and shame" some feel when visiting a food bank.

He said: "This will be a community hub. We'd like a community cafe upstairs and rooms where people can get confidential advice. Instead of families having to travel to Sheerness, the bus will come to them."

Mr Lambkin has already approached South East Coachworks in Faversham, better known for converting vehicles into tour buses for top bands and the company behind the bus in The Spice Girls Movie, to help design the inside. He said: "They have also come up with a very competitive quote."

The bus, valued at £6,000, has a built-in ramp to allow disabled access downstairs. The forum had originally considered a red London Routemaster but rejected it because of accessibility problems and the long-term cost of maintenance. Travelmasters has agreed to service and store the community bus.

It has yet to be given a name but one suggestion is the Sheppey Shuttle.

Members stressed the bus could be used by other organisations for mobile displays of artwork, fossils, museum items, fire safety advice and even music workshops.

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