Farewell to Z Cars-style classic

The police car was a familiar sight in the Welshpool area in the 60s

An old Powys police car is up for sale, 40 years after it patrolled the streets.

The now privately-owned Ford Zephyr 6 patrol car was restored by enthusiast Brian Stuart and is thought to be one of only three of the type left working in the UK.

But his death last year has prompted his widow to sell the vehicle and she has placed a £6,500 price tag on it.

The Zephyr was popularised by the BBC TV series Z Cars in the 1960s.

Up until 1997, this Zephyr was stored in a shed.

Mandy Stuart, who lives at Pant, Shropshire, a community which borders the Powys village of Llanymynech, said the Zephyr was sold to the police in 1965.

Long-running BBC police series Z Cars took its name from the Zephyr

It went out of service in the late 1960s after patrolling the old county of Montgomeryshire and ended up being used as a wedding car.

Mr Stuart eventually bought the vehicle for £1,000 eight years ago.

Mrs Stuart said the car would be familiar to fans of Z Cars and those of Yorkshire-based police drama, Heartbeat.

She added: "The police Zephyr was different to those used by ordinary drivers.

"It has a special speedometer that was used to clock drivers which still works and it is has rubber mats, whereas the other Zephyr's had carpets.

The car was stored in a shed for 22 years before it was bought in 1997

"It also has a Ford Zodiac engine which is different again to the ordinary Zephyr".

Mrs Stuart said she believed it was one of only three former police Ford Zephyr's in working order in the UK.

She said she was hoping for a good price as a Zephyr that featured in Heartbeat series was sold last year for £6,000.

This version of the Zephyr was produced for four years until 1966 and the model helped give the BBC police series Z Cars its name.