THE owner of a Greenock coach firm who is fighting to save jobs has appealed for help to keep his full fleet safely on the road.

Brian Lamb has exposed problems with the government's MOT system for public service vehicles during Covid-19, which has left him out of pocket.

As he tries to open back up again he has found himself penalised and struggling to get his buses booked in for the safety tests because of a backlog caused by government test centres closing during the restrictions.

This comes as almost all of Lamb's hires are wiped out by the pandemic and he faces falling off the furlough scheme 'cliff-edge' next month.

Inverclyde's MSP Stuart McMillan has now stepped in and written to the UK Government asking the transport secretary to help.

Brian, who has run his firm - which is based at Larkfield Industrial Estate - for over 25 years, said: "We are having to get five buses tested in a short space of time when normally it would be spread over a year.

"It is adding to our difficulties right now.

"Although there was an extension it means that we have to get our MOTs all at the one time.

"The centres closed down and now because of social distancing they can't do as many coaches.

"It has just added to the difficulties we face right now.

"We have no idea when we will be able to do hires again."

Coach firms have to comply with an annual safety test and a low emissions test as well.

Like businesses up and down Inverclyde, Lambs has faced incredible upheaval during the virus.

They would normally have been busy taking cruise line passengers on tours as well as the usual hospitality hires for weddings, outings and parties.

Now they only have their five contracts for school buses.

Brian, 61, added: "That has helped us.

"We have four full-time and three part-time drivers on furlough and we managed to give them the 20 per cent on top of the 80 per cent being paid by the government.

"But when furlough ends I really don't know what is going to happen.

"The drivers are all around my age and they are friends."

MSP Mr McMillan has written to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to ask for additional assistance for garages delivering MOTs, and a short extension for coach operators to allow them to ensure that vehicles are completely compliant.

He said: "Coach firms in Inverclyde have been struggling to get MOTs because of demand, and this places a challenge on operators to ensure their vehicles are fully up to date and compliant with the rules.

"Additional assistance to support garages delivering MOTs to deal with the backlog that exists at this time, and a short extension for coach operators to get their coaches fully compliant, would help to avoid drivers and operators being penalised through no fault of their own.

A DVSA spokesperson told the Telegraph: "The DVSA is working closely with authorised testing facilities to ensure MOT tests are available to heavy vehicle operators, whilst ensuring a safe working environment for staff and customers."