A CAR will go up for auction next week after spending more than three decades gathering dust.

The 1933 Citroen Big Twelve saloon was recovered from a garage in Sandhutton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, following the death of its owner.

The vehicle was first registered in Leeds and supplied new in 1933 by the Headingley Motor Company and cost £230.

Rodney Tennant, of Tennant’s Auctioneers, in Leyburn, said: “It will have been in the garage for 30 or 40 years.

“The owner’s niece has happy memories standing on the running board as a child, before the days of health and safety regulations of course.”

The car is in need of a complete restoration and would be an ideal project for some who had retired, said Mr Tennant. “The elements and wildlife have got in over the years – whoever buys it would need to come armed with a bag of spanners.”

He estimates that the car will fetch up to £1,000.

Also up for auction is an Austin A30 Seven saloon, first registered in 1936.

The cars will go under the hammer on Saturday, April 25.