From the Berlin Wall to Wakefield

Dominic Russell-Price and his pride-and-joy, a 1972 Trabant

Twenty years on from the fall of the Berlin Wall, a Wakefield car enthusiast has the chance to celebrate in style in an authentic Cold War car.

Dominic Russell-Price, who lives near Nostell Priory, is the proud owner of a Trabant, or 'Trabi', a little car which made a big impact.

After the Wall came down, thousands of East Germans flooded into West Berlin in these tiny, smoky vehicles.

And Dominic can relive those days just by getting behind the steering wheel.

Dominic's 1972 green Trabi is exactly the sort of car which was seen on TV screens around the world as East Berliners headed across the border after the Wall was finally consigned to the history books on November 9 1989.

Trabants, or Trabis, were the most common make of car in East Germany

Ironically, Dominic says that twenty years on cars like his pride-and-joy are an incredibly rare sight in the German capital: "You can't drive one of these as an individual in Berlin these days. They've been banned.

"You do see them driving around, but they have to be classed as commercial vehicles."

Dominic clearly loves his little Trabi - despite its somewhat boxy appearance, the overwhelming smell of oil and fumes, the lack of a fuel gauge and the fact the car's engine has to be completely replaced every 15,000 miles.

He believes the Trabi is a symbol of East Berliners battling against adversity: "What we're seeing with the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall is that lots of people are beginning to notice that there were other things.

"It wasn't just politics, it wasn't just the Stasi [East German secret police]. People got on with their everyday lives.

Dominic's Trabi certainly isn't just something to look at, though. In fact, just the other day he says he took his little car out for a spin to the woods near Nostell Priory to collect logs - possibly a far cry from its old life in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

While Dominic says he knows life in the GDR was hard - "Things weren't easy. There were challenges." - he also thinks that the Trabant shows there was more to East Germany than the Wall.

For example, he says: "There wasn't a feminist movement in East Germany because there didn't need to be one. Women had childcare. There was good healthcare.

"They were going out to good jobs. Everybody had a job. I'm not an apologist - there were all sorts of problems."

The fall of the Berlin Wall saw thousands of Trabants head west

Back in 2009 and Dominic is now looking forward to taking the Trabi out for an even longer spin next year - as part of what's called the Soviet Auto Luxury Tour.

In June 2010, he'll be behind the wheel and heading from Nostell to Wiltshire to meet up with lots of other like-minded folk who own 'Cold War Classics'.

Dominic explains: "When you own a vehicle like this, the Trabant or the Tatra from Czechoslovakia, it's actually quite nice to get out on the road and drive them and see them being used.

"It's too easy to go to car shows and sit with a bunch of people on their deckchairs, rubbing their chins and polishing their cars. We like to use this."

Twenty years on from the end of the Berlin Wall, Dominic is clearly doing his bit in Nostell to keep the memory of pre-1989 East Berlin alive.

In fact his Trabi has now lasted longer than the time the Wall stood - not bad for a smoky little box on wheels!