A WILTSHIRE grandfather of two celebrating his 100th birthday has been finally reunited with the luxury Bentley S3 he last drove as a chauffeur nearly 60 years ago.

Eddie Hughes was given the powerful 6.25-litre V8-engined car by his family as a surprise birthday present.

His son Ron, 69, had spent more than 20 years searching the world for the vehicle and the family finally found it for sale in the United States of America.

James Coleman, Eddie’s grandson, drove the keen golfer in the car to Whitley Golf Club, where he celebrated his centenary with his family.

Mr Hughes, of Little Notton, said: “I just could not believe it. It was wonderful to see it again.

“I was very emotional when I saw it. I never knew anything about it.

“It still drives excellently. You feel safe in a car like that and when driven properly it drives very smoothly.”

Mr Hughes, a former professional chauffeur, first picked up the Bentley, registration number UES 444, from the Rolls-Royce car factory in Crewe while working for his employer Mr Bell.

He last drove it in 1964 before leaving Mr Bell’s employment to take up a new job in Kidderminster, Worcestershire.

Ron, who lives in Tomintoul, Scotland, said: “I had looked all over the world for the car, after dad told me it was the best car he had ever driven.

“I contacted Rolls-Royce, the Bentley clubs and car clubs all over the world and it never came up.”

The car was finally found by chance when James, 31, entered the registration number on Google and it popped up.

“We could not believe it when it came up,” he said.” It was being offered for sale by the Beverley Hills Car Club.”

The family contacted the luxury car dealership in Los Angeles, USA, to ask if it was still for sale.

They paid £32,000 to buy the car and have it shipped back to the UK, where Mr Coleman, who owns, JC Performance in Westbury, made sure the vehicle was put back into tip top condition before being given to his grandfather for his birthday.

He said: “I had to do a bit of work on the brakes, suspension and rebuild the carburettor before giving it a full service.

“The car was very complete with its original parts but its running condition was poor until it was fixed.”

The brown over champagne-coloured Bentley has a sand beige interior and is now registered jointly to his son Ron and son-in-law Paul Coleman.

Mr Hughes said: “It has a 6.25 litre V8 engine and a top speed of 120mph and does about 18 miles to the gallon at best. When it came out of the factory, it had seat belts fitted front and rear, sun dim glass windows and refrigerated air conditioning.”

The Beverley Hills Car Club had advertised the vehicle for sale as a “very elegant” British classic car that is mechanically sound.

The dealership said:”It comes equipped with an automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering, wood trim, rear picnic trays, white line tires, and solid wheels.”

Sadly, Eddie plans to hand in his driving licence later this year after 83 years at the wheel, so he won’t be driving it. “I’ll be leaving that to my family,”he said.