One man’s pride and joy is gone, after “chancers” drove away with it right from his driveway – and then burned it to the ground just for the heck of it.
Until recently, Owen Lokuciejewski-Taylor from Calverley, UK, owned a beautiful, baby blue Austin A35 he had named Bessie. Bessie had been the first car he had ever driven and, as an adult, he put in 8 years’ worth of hard work and money to restore it, so he could take it on the road again.
Bessie is gone for good now, the man says in an interview cited by Telegraph & Argus. “Chancers” took her right from his driveway and then set it on fire on a deserted field, when they realized that she wasn’t worth what they imagined.
The A35 was sold between 1956 and 1968, and less than 300,000 items were made. It came to replace the A30 as a slightly improved model, rendering a better overall performance.
Owen bought one when he turned 17, with some help from a local classic car club. In time, Bessie became part of the family – and part of the community, too.
“Bessie became a bit of a local car celebrity during my school days - I don’t think Horsforth School had ever had a student pull up to school in a vehicle like that before,” Owen recalls. “The assistant headteacher took a real interest and would let me park in the ‘teachers only’ spaces from time to time.”
He understands if thieves had targeted Bessie because she was a classic, but he can’t wrap his head around “chancers” taking it and burning it down.
“It’s still hard to believe, just like that and something so special to you is just gone, made all the worse by the fact that it was stolen and vandalised so thoughtlessly,” he says. “It is just such an incredible waste of history and a beautiful little car.”
Once he noticed Bessie was gone, he reported it to the police. About 3 hours later, he found her on a field, burned to the ground, still smoldering (and not in the good way). He says CCTV footage shows the thieves trying on car doors all along the street, before reaching Bessie and getting inside.
The silver lining to the story, Owen says, is that he can now look for another Austin to buy, restore and turn into a member of the family – granted his wife lets him.
Bessie is gone for good now, the man says in an interview cited by Telegraph & Argus. “Chancers” took her right from his driveway and then set it on fire on a deserted field, when they realized that she wasn’t worth what they imagined.
The A35 was sold between 1956 and 1968, and less than 300,000 items were made. It came to replace the A30 as a slightly improved model, rendering a better overall performance.
Owen bought one when he turned 17, with some help from a local classic car club. In time, Bessie became part of the family – and part of the community, too.
“Bessie became a bit of a local car celebrity during my school days - I don’t think Horsforth School had ever had a student pull up to school in a vehicle like that before,” Owen recalls. “The assistant headteacher took a real interest and would let me park in the ‘teachers only’ spaces from time to time.”
He understands if thieves had targeted Bessie because she was a classic, but he can’t wrap his head around “chancers” taking it and burning it down.
“It’s still hard to believe, just like that and something so special to you is just gone, made all the worse by the fact that it was stolen and vandalised so thoughtlessly,” he says. “It is just such an incredible waste of history and a beautiful little car.”
Once he noticed Bessie was gone, he reported it to the police. About 3 hours later, he found her on a field, burned to the ground, still smoldering (and not in the good way). He says CCTV footage shows the thieves trying on car doors all along the street, before reaching Bessie and getting inside.
The silver lining to the story, Owen says, is that he can now look for another Austin to buy, restore and turn into a member of the family – granted his wife lets him.