A FORMER breakdown truck, which is believed to be the only existing vehicle of its kind left in the country, made its debut appearance at Bere Alston Carnival earlier this month.

The 1932 Commer breakdown truck has only just been acquired by Bere Alston couple Graham and Donna Skinner and they are delighted with their new 'old' vehicle.

The Skinners, who are both now retired, fell for the vehicle when they saw it advertised in the Classic and Vintage magazine.

Graham, a retired consultant marine engineer and Donna, who worked for Royal Mail and in market gardening, discovered that they are only its fourth owners — the Commer originally belonged to a Cardiff garage, who had it for 40 years.

The vintage vehicle was not registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, but ran on trade plates when it was with the garage. Originally it had two numbers and four letters on the plates but the third owner had it re-registered and it now carries the plate NAS 856.

Donna said: 'Graham is renovating another old vehicle at the moment, a 1950 Unipower Hannibal, which needs a lot of work, so we thought it would be nice to have one that didn't need renovating and we could have a lot of fun going to rallies with.'

It certainly caught the eye at the recent Bere Alston Carnival.

Donna said: 'We had a lot of interest, particularly from the tractor drivers at the show who came over to have a look.

'For a vehicle which is 83 years old it is still in great condition.

'It has lasted all these years but I'm not sure if modern vehicles will last as long.

Graham is now teaching Donna to drive the vehicle, including the technique of 'double de-clutch' and they take it to the old airfield at Yelverton to practise.

One passenger who is happy to 'hop on board' is they dog Mutley, a 19-year-old Parson Jack Russell.

'As soon as you open the door he just loves climbing on the seat,' said Donna.

'The truck has become a second home to him!'