A COUPLE from Bushey will represent thousands of classic car drivers on Saturday after being given a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to take part in the Lord Mayor’s Procession.

Mike and Janet Wakelin will deck their 1966 Morris Minor in bunting and flags while driving in a nine-car diamond-shaped float to mark the diamond anniversary of the British car make.

Grandchildren Daniel, eight, and Joshua, five, will be joining them for the central London parade, an event attended by thousands of people and broadcast to television sets across the country.

The Wakelins are two of some 14,000 members of the Morris Minors Owners Club, a club which picked them for the one time only slot in the show.

Janet, 67, of Avenue Rise, said: “It is exciting to take part in something like this. The only similar thing we have done is London to Brighton three years ago. That’s very interesting as they rope off the whole of the prom for the Morris Minors.”

Although proud of the historic car, Janet insisted it was more than a show car and was used daily for short trips.

She said: “The worst thing about driving it is the humps on The Avenue. There were no speed bumps when Morris Minors were built.”

Mike, 69, regularly repairs and services the car and said that, unlike on some other models, this process was fairly simple.

He said: “It’s relatively easy to repair compared to new cars.

“If I looked under the bonnet of my car I wouldn’t know where to begin.”