IN 1960 the 10-year MOT Test was introduced for all road vehicles at or over that age, the cost being 15 shillings (75p) which included one shilling (5p) for the certificate.

There was an avalanche of failures as some of these may have been 30 years old or more. The vehicles were then to be tested annually.

The government was so shocked at the number of failures that on 31 December 1961 the qualifying age was reduced to seven years.

(Source; Wikipedia).

The garage of JS Monro at the bottom of New Street alone failed many dozens considered to be beyond economic repair.

The recipient of these was an old friend and local scrap dealer Bertie Field. When on one occasion I saw him pay Jimmy Monro £20 in £1 notes for 20 cars.

He would get them towed, a few at a time, across to where Enham Arch roundabout is now, to be processed. Any saleable items would be removed including good tyres, batteries and copper radiators, if fitted.

The cars would then be set alight, one at a time, to burn the combustible material not acceptable to the scrapyard, being rubber, plastic, cardboard and wood.

The cars would then be cut into pieces using oxyacetylene or propane gas flame from a torch nozzle, The light iron forming the bulk would be set aside from the heavy, being the engine, gearbox, back axle and wheel hubs. The burnt-out copper wire from the wiring looms would be collected.

My friend Danny (Bert’s son) and myself would help out and earn some pocket money in our school holidays and one day Danny had set light to a car not knowing his father had sold the tyres. I am glad it was Danny and not myself.

Another day we had a car and it was impossible to smash the windscreen and any attempt with the sledge hammer failed because it just bounced off. We thought it might have been bulletproof.

Of course, nearly all of the cars were ‘runners’ but just not road-safe and to transport the two heavy gas bottles around the site we used a Vauxhall 18hp car as a reservoir.

In the case of light iron, it was difficult to make a load because of the odd shapes and it would have to be stacked really high on the lorry and then roped on to make one ton which would fetch £2.

Heavy iron was a different proposition being easy to load and then unload, at the scrapyard where it would fetch £5 a ton. Of course, the lead batteries and any brass or copper was easy to handle and a nice little earner.

So, the costs incurred was buying the cars, gas, petrol and normal lorry expenses including wear and tear.

Of course, Jimmy Monro did well to sell new Vauxhall cars and other second-hand ones of all makes.

The bureaucrats in their wisdom (or lack thereof) decided that any cars imported would be registered at the date of entry into the UK.

I had a 1957 Hillman Minx convertible with the registration BOR 984C (C being 1965).

So, the MOT was due in 1972 when the car would be 15 years old.

Late one dark night I was passing through Bladon village in Oxfordshire with three friends when I decided to visit the grave of Sir Winston Churchill as being in the RAF I had marched through London on his funeral. We quickly found the grave when lights appeared behind us, being Mr Plod x2 who asked, what we were doing there.

After I explained the situation one of them asked me to produce my driving licence and MOT and I told him that an MOT was not applicable and pointed to the number plate. He could see it was not a new car. Ha! Ha!

Derek Weeks, Martin Way, Andover.