Dad finds whole car buried under lawn while gardening during lockdown
A dad doing some gardening during the coronavirus lockdown made a shock discovery when he unearthed a car believed to be from the 1950s buried under his lawn.
John Brayshaw was digging post panels to start some decking in his garden when he found the practically-intact car complete with engine, doors and registration plate buried on its side.
The 40-year-old, who bought the house six months ago, thinks the car is a 1955/56 Ford Popular 103e.
He said: “It's really weird. It's not something you find every day - it is literally in the middle of my garden.”
“It's one of those things that you literally have to see it to believe it. I was like 'what on earth is this?'
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“I thought it was an old air raid shelter at first, then I saw the roof and I thought 'who'd bury the roof of a car?'
“Then I kept digging at saw the door, the steering wheel and realised it was a full car complete with the registration plate. The only thing that was missing was the wheels.”
The dad-of-two had planned to lay the decking at his home near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, over the Bank Holiday weekend, but decided to start early after being put on furlough.
He said: “I was digging post panels for my decking and I hit something hard, so I started doing some digging around it.
“I'd say the hole it is in 7ft deep, 10ft long and 5ft wide. I've only got halfway through yet, half of the car is still buried under dirt.”
Brayshaw said he believes the previous owners of the house, who had lived there for 50 years, knew nothing of the car either.
He added: “I have asked people what the weirdest thing is they have found in their back garden.
“The couple who lived here before have both died, we bought the house from their brother and he said they lived her for 50 years and never did anything with the garden.
“There is a lot of speculation about what it could be, but one thing is for sure - the car has been there for at least 50 years.”
He said it has been suggested the vehicle could have a military link.
“I've been told that at the end of world war two there was an influx of people that used to work for the Secret Service,” he added.
“It has also been suggested to me that the colour of the car is known as 'RAF grey'. The house has got a full cellar, which is under a trap door.
“I can't find a trace of the registration plate anywhere and there seems to be no record of the car available, which is weird as well."
