Banana-coloured car a real scene-stealer

Britain's Cotswolds. Photo / www.britainonview.com

A pensioner's bright yellow car, blamed for ruining the view in one of Britain's most picturesque villages, has been written off by a vandal who scratched "MOVE" on the bonnet.

Peter Maddox, 84, parks his banana-coloured Vauxhall Corsa outside his Cotswolds cottage in 14th-century Arlington Row, which is owned by the National Trust.

The houses are the oldest inhabited properties in the UK and appear on the inside cover of millions of passports.

But a row erupted in 2015 when visitors complained that Maddox's "ugly" car was wrecking the classic English scene in Bibury, Gloucestershire, and "photobombing" tourists' images.

The retired dentist insisted he had nowhere else to park and continued leaving his car on the road, until it was targeted last week. A vandal scratched the word "MOVE" on the bonnet, scratched every other panel and smashed the driver's side window and rear windscreen.

Mechanics have told Maddox it will cost 6000 ($10,240) to repair, making the car a probable write-off. But he has said if that was the case he would buy a replacement - in lime-green.

Daughter-in-law Marie Kraus said: "Peter is understandably upset at the loss of his car and his independence, but he is also very fond of his lovely yellow car.

"Everyone in the village is very supportive. It is horrible to think whoever has done this has come out of their way down this little road to do something like this. It will be a struggle to get another car. It will leave Peter out of pocket."

Maddox moved to Bibury after his wife died 15 years ago and bought his car three years ago.

Villagers are calling the crime "disgusting".