Staff at a Burslem pottery who were told they must move to Longton have been appeased after their new employer agreed to lay on a free daily bus service for them.

The 15 staff who used to work for Wade pottery's Box Radiants business were faced with a dilemma last month when managers told them they had to move across the city or lose their jobs.

The workers said they relied on public transport and would have difficulty commuting to Longton from the north of the city. They said the extra travelling would add hours to their working day.

But following the Potters Holiday all but two of the staff began work this week for Ceramic Gas Products in Longton, which officially took over the Box Radiants business from Wade on July 1.

David Mandley, operations director of Ceramic Gas Products, said negotiations were continuing with pottery union CATU in an attempt to bring the remaining two workers on board.

However he warned he would only give them ‘‘a couple of weeks'' to change their mind.

He said: ‘‘We have hired a coach to pick up the workers in Burslem every morning and return them after work. It was something we felt we ought to do to ease their difficulty in getting to Longton every day.

‘‘We have told them we will continue to run the service until at least Christmas to get them into the swing of things.

‘‘I am not prepared to say how much it is costing us but it is a significant amount.''

The sale of the Box Radiants division followed a review of the Wade business by the management buy-out team which bought the company from Beauford in April.

PICTURED: Wades workers catch the bus in Burslem to their jobs in Longton.