Many people eventually get round to trading in their first car. But not Mike Harrison. He loves his 1931 black Bentley sports coupe so much that he's still driving it — 54 years after he bought it.

Old reliable: Motorist Mike Harrison, 74, still owns a 1931 Bentley Coupe, which he bought 54 years ago

Mr Harrison was 20 when he paid £150 (about £3,000 now) for the car after passing his test in 1956. It had already done 85,000 miles and he has since driven it a further 100,000, yet the car still runs like clockwork.

It is now one of only three left in the country and is worth £250,000. Despite its value, Mr Harrison, 74, says he would never sell the car 'which has been my best friend and part of my family all my life'.

Mr Harrison courted his wife Jenny in it during the early Sixties and it was their family car when children Caroline, now 46, and Ben, 42, came along. Even when he took a job as an advertising executive which came with the company car of his choice, Mr Harrison kept the Bentley.

He said: 'How many people still have their first car these days when everything is so disposable? But it is a real eye-catcher. It has something that modern cars just don't have — style and character. 'I still drive it most days, even though it only does about 15 miles to the gallon!'

Family runaround: The 4.5 litre Bentley coupe, pictured outside Mr Harrison's parents' home in 1958. He later used it to court his wife Jenny and ferry their two children around.

Petrol was just six shillings (30p) a gallon when Mr Harrison bought the Bentley, which had a top speed of 120mph.

He has spent thousands of pounds on repairs over the years but has kept the bodywork in good condition himself, hand-painting the underneath and spraying the black panels of the bodywork.

For decades the Bentley was a regular sight on the roads near Mr Harrison's home in Hampton Court, Surrey. He now uses it as a runaround after retiring to Whitney-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

Mrs Harrison, 71, said: 'It was a nuisance keeping it in tip-top order with me helping out with the repairs by passing Mike the spanners the whole time. But I wouldn't have changed any of it...'