A car, first registered in Pembrokeshire, has returned to its home county over 40 years after it was driven off the forecourt of Jeremy's Garage, Narberth.

The white 2.5 litre Ford Zephyr was brought back to Pentlepoir last weekend after spending 95 per cent of its life in East Anglia.

In immaculate condition, and with just 21,820 miles on the clock, the proud new owner of the 1959 Zephyr - the second of Ford's 'Three Graces' (Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac) - is Mr. Brian Lewis, of The Coppins, Pentlepoir.

"I drove a Ford Consul for 10 years and always promised myself I'd look for another one when I retired," Mr. Lewis explained.

The Zephyr, registration number 305 EDE, was being offered for sale by a gentleman in Weston-Super-Mare in Classic Car magazine, and Mr. Lewis and his wife, Jean, decided to go and have a look at it.

"We didn't know about the Pembrokeshire connection until we got there," said Mrs. Lewis. "We had the surprise of our life when we pulled up and saw a DE number plate."

With all the vehicle's documentation - including its original buff log book - intact, it was easy for the Lewis' to trace its history.

"The car was sold by Jeremy's Garage, in Narberth, to a Commander Grenfell, of Salisbury, Wiltshire, in July 1959," Mr. Lewis revealed.

After three years, the car was sold on to a Mr. Roland Sherar, of Norfolk.

Aged 72 at the time, Mr. Sherar drove the car for just three years before deciding to hang up his driving gloves.

However, instead of selling the car, which by this time had covered some 16,260 miles, Mr. Sherar decided to put it into storage in a cow barn.

There it remained until the late 1980s when Mr. Sherar's son-in-law, Mr. Clayton, of Norfolk, decided to restore it.

However, when he came to start work, he found that little needed to be done, as the vehicle was almost completely rust-free.

"In fact, the only thing that was needed was a respray, because the colour had faded over the years in the cow shed," explained Mr. Lewis.

When Mr. Clayton went to re-tax the car in October 1989, the mileage was just 16,733, making just 464 miles covered in 25 years!

At that time, as it still had its old log book and was not registered on the DVLA computer, it was issued with a new number, VSU 340.

Under its new registration, the car was sold on to Mr. David Dye, of Norfolk, who kept the vehicle for 11 years.

In 1997, he applied to the DVLA to re-register the car under its original number plate of 305 EDE, which was granted.

The car, which by now had covered 19,290 miles, was sold on to its last recorded keeper, Philip Lewis, of Weston-Super-Mare, in December 2000.

"When we decided to buy the car, it had 21,820 miles on the clock. We didn't want to put any more miles on it just yet, so we brought it back to Pembrokeshire on a car transporter!" smiled Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Lewis said that he was amazed to find that not only was the car in almost showroom condition - complete with its original mats - but it also had all its V5 and MOT certificates and even its original sales brochure, which revealed it cost £917-1s- 5d new.

"It's amazing to think that, after 42 years, it's found a new home just seven miles from where it started its journey," said Mr. Lewis.

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis said that they will use the car on local classic car rallies, including next year's Tenby rally.