THE man from the AA took one look and sighed.

"After Audis, Hondas are one of the hardest cars to get into," he said.

The reason for the man with the bright yellow van was down to my seven-year-old son.

On going to the car to retrieve his scooter he had inadvertently shut the keys in the boot. As he had not opened the doors beforehand, the boot secured itself as it closed and our trip down the East Coast looked like having but a solitary stop.

After several minutes I was on first name terms with my potential saviour, Paul managing to open the front door with skills no doubt learned via his organisation's version of the Magic Circle. I didn't ask how he did it and he certainly wasn't telling.

But getting in was only phase one.

Paul, a man of 6ft plus and with a build to match, then had to gain access to the boot, via the rear seats.

Opening the driver's door set off the alarm. It would have been reassuring had we not been outside a sheltered housing complex. Fortunately, it appeared that, in common with my father, keen hearing was not among the occupants' strongest faculties so Paul ploughed on, declaring he was not going until he had the keys in his hand.

His need to obtain a low centre of gravity allowed me to see how far back the driver's seat reclined, should I require a rest from my exertions, and how sturdy and scuff resistant the instrument panel was, given that he unavoidably clouted it with his boots on several occasions.

It also demonstrated just how much room there was to play with as, despite his dimensions, Paul was able to make himself relatively comfortable, all things considered.

The biggest headache came in gaining access to the boot as the rear seat release were hidden therein.

Paul mopped his brow, strung together some Heath Robinson kind of contraption and once more disappeared inside. In a position last seen in the Kama Sutra, he manoeuvred the makeshift fishing rod through the eye of needle and after a few wiggles here and adjustments there, popped the release catch.

All that remained was for the cause of all the trouble to slide through the gap and retrieve the keys.