....and he still drives his 1968 work van.

Just can't bear to be apart: The ex-meter inspector who still drives his 1968 work van

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:07 PM on 3rd November 2010

A retired electricity meter inspector is still driving his Austin 35 van more than 40 years after getting behind the wheel.

Former Midland Electricity Board worker John Hughes, 75, couldn't bear to be separated from his beloved 1968 work van so he bought it at auction - and has since used it as his family runaround.

He'd spent five years driving from job to job in his faithful motor and couldn't face saying goodbye to it when the firm replaced it with a more modern model in 1973 so the father of two decided to bid for it.

John from Wolverhampton, paid just £123 for the van, and has clocked up over 97,000 miles in it through work and with his family.

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Electric relationship: John Hughes, 75, couldn't bear to be separated from his beloved 1968 Austin 35 work van so he bought it at a car auction. He has been driving for 40 years

He said: 'They replaced the company fleet with Vauxhall Vivas, which were technically more advanced but not as well-made.

'I just didn't like the idea of it being sold to someone who was going to use it for 12 months and run it into the ground.

'The chief engineer tipped me off when and where it was being auctioned off and I made sure I was there.'  

Mr Hughes bought the van at British Car Auctions, Birmingham, paying 10 per cent VAT and a £2.20 handling fee on top, making a grand total of £123.20.

As a van, it was not the most practical choice of family motor but Mr Hughes said it was used more as a back-up vehicle when there was luggage and other bulky items to move.

In uniform: Mr Hughes, pictured with his van in the late 1970s, has clocked up more than 97,000 miles in the vehicle

Then in 1984 he sent it off for a full recondition after finding rust in the driver's footwell.

The work was carried out by Bedworth Car Valet in Warwickshire run by a couple of Austin 35 enthusiasts.

In latter years he has regularly entered it in vintage car rallies, and in 1990 was asked to lead the Lord Mayor's Procession in Birmingham.

'I don't go so far now, just to shows in the local area, and I do the odd garden fete when people ask,' said Mr Hughes.  

Midland Electricity Board used to replace its entire fleet every five to seven years, and although the vehicles clocked up a lot of miles, they had many more years of service left in them.

When Mr Hughes had the van rebuilt, it was also resprayed in its original livery of cream top, green bottom with red band.

In 1987, to make the look complete, the Board's transport manager also gave him a couple of old transfers bearing the MEB's original insignia.

In the van Mr Hughes he also keeps some old electricity meters and other equipment which is now redundant.

He has amassed a collection of 50 meters - some dating back to the 1930s.

His collection started when he removed an old meter dating from before the board was nationalised and was told to scrap it.

'I thought it would be a real waste,' he said. 

'So I decided to keep it, and all of the others I've kept would also have been scrapped.

'I think people will be interested in them come a few years from now, so somebody has got to keep hold of them. I have them stored up in my garage.

'There are also a lot of other little electrical bits and pieces that I could have collected.

'When people stop to talk to me about the van at rallies, I open up the back and show them the tools of my old job. It's a bit of added interest.'  

Mr Hughes, who was an installation inspector for the last 25 years, travelled all over Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire, eventually retiring in 1993 after clocking up 42 years with the company.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1326142/Ex-electricity-board-inspector-bought-work-van-auction--antique-meters.html#ixzz14Dq6qtvD