A dad is blazing a trail in his own working fire engine.
Lawrence Garbett bought it on eBay for £1,500 and now uses it as a family runaround.
He says it’s great because other drivers let him out at junctions and even pull over to let him pass.
But he gets funny looks when he uses it to do the weekly shop at the supermarket.
Dad-of-two Lawrence, who works in printing, said: “Going around in a fire engine is a dream come true.
“I wanted something to tinker with and thought it would be really cool to drive about.
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“It’s illegal to impersonate a firefighter, and I’d never pretend to anyone that’s what I was, but I was thrilled when I realised people automatically let you pull out at junctions.
“I was a bit worried about finding space to park, and I think I’ve probably left it in a few dodgy places, but I’ve never had a ticket.” The truck has just 35,000 miles on the clock and, apart from a couple of broken lights and a flat battery, Lawrence says it was in pretty good nick when he bought it.
His wife Laura was a bit hesitant when he revealed their new family vehicle – but Lawrence says she has fallen in love with it.
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Lawrence, from Cannock, Staffs, added: “Laura wasn’t thrilled when I told her I’d bought a fire engine. I think she just thought it was typical me and let me get on with it.
“But since we’ve been driving around in it, we’ve realised people just naturally move out of our way and she likes it a bit more now.
“I love driving along and having so many people smile and wave at me – I always smile back.”
“Even firefighters have stopped me and asked about it. One asked me to bring it to the station.
“I couldn’t believe how interested they were, considering they drive around in them all day long.”
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