A Ford Fiesta that has undergone a complete nut and bolt restoration by Wheeler Dealers Mike Brewer and Marc ‘Elvis’ Priestley has been stolen before filming.
The rare 1979 Mk1 Ford Fiesta 1300S was scheduled to be revealed at a special filmed event at The Motorist in North Yorkshire to celebrate 20 years of the Wheeler Dealers. However, when the crew went to leave their hotel in North Pontefract on the morning of filming, they discovered the covered trailer and its contents had already left – stolen in the early hours.
Mike and Elvis jumped on social media, both visibly upset that their ‘star car’ was missing, and pleaded for fans to start a UK wide search for the trailer and the fiesta.
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Mike said: “I dare to say that we’ve possibly built the best Mk1 Ford Fiesta in this country – it really is this good. The team has spent about 100 hours refurbishing the car, which has a registration number of JBY 10V.”
Elvis added: ‘We are heartbroken and it’s a car that deserves to be out there for the world to see, not squirrelled away on the back of some thief’s trailer.’
The duo also said they believed thieves may have specifically targeted the trailer, unaware the car was inside.
“These really are iconic cars – there are very few of them left in the country,” Mike said. “When I bought it, I wanted to build a special version and we spent weeks doing it up. We’re heartbroken and gutted it’s now been stolen. Obviously the car will be hot property and the last thing we want is for it to be dumped and burnt out. We just hope to get it back in a good state.”
Now in its 20th year, the show has been working on the special 1979 Ford Fiesta 1300S to mark the anniversary, while also helping to celebrate the imminent end of the production of the best-selling Ford hatchback.
CCTV footage showed the thieves with torches fiddling around with the car in the early hours of Tuesday morning and then a white Mercedes Sprinter towing the trailer away.
Anyone with any information should contact West Yorkshire Police.
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