A petrolhead was stunned when his beloved one-of-a-kind car was vandalized in a sleepy village twice a week.
Dylan Halls’ 34-year-old Vauxhall Belmont is the last of its type to still be running in the UK.
The 23-year-old mechanic loves the car and can’t understand why anyone would want to damage it.
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He first found the windscreen wipers bent upwards one morning after parking near his parent’s home.
Then corrosive drain cleaner was poured over the bonnet and roof damaging the paint and plastic mouldings.
Dylan, from Plumstead, Norfolk was gutted.
“I love the car even though it’s caused me lots of pain over the time I’ve owned it,” he told Need To Know.
“I’ve done plenty of work to keep it roadworthy and spend more money than it’s worth to let it live.
“Everyone seems to love it as much as I do.
“I get stopped at petrol stations, shop car parks, and traffic lights by people telling me they used to have one back in the day.
“It’s a great little runner and makes me smile every time I drive it.
“Lots of people at work called me an idiot for buying an old Vauxhall, but I never regretted it.
“Maybe someone was fed up looking at it near my parent’s house.
“Although to a lot of people, it’s a nice nostalgic sight to see a car of the sort, some people might see it as an eye sore.
“It’s not the most glamorous or prestigious car for that matter.
“But even so it’s still not worth vandalising.
“It is the only Astra Belmont Merit left taxed on UK roads.
“I’m sure there are a few others hiding in people’s gardens but you won’t see another one driving on the road.”
The car will require a full strip and respray which Dylan will do himself.
He added: “I will be repairing it myself.
“The average respray is upwards of £1000 but because I’ll be doing it myself it will only cost the painting materials and my own time of course.”
The Vauxhall Belmont is a saloon car sold in Great Britain by Vauxhall between January 1986 and September 1991.
