Independent dealer and used Vauxhall specialist Thompson And Smith, which bills itself as ‘Lincolnshire’s largest non-Vauxhall dealer’, has branched out into classic cars.

Already operating a showroom for used Vauxhalls on Louth’s Fairfield Industrial Estate, owners Neil Thompson and Ian Smith have now opened Woldside Classic and Sports Car in a purpose built showroom next door.

Thompson told the Lincolnshire Echo newspaper he developed a hobby in classic cars in recent years

The new venture, which stocks around 30 classic cars, varying from a Peugeot 205GTi and Fiat 126 BIS from the 1980s to a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster, has created three jobs.

"I am now hooked and always looking for cars which have been owned by good people who have kept them original and cared for.

"My buying trips have taken me to America, Germany, Holland and Belgium. If the car is right, it is worth the trip," Thompson told the newspaper.