Tom Wright celebrated his 99th birthday yesterday - but he has no plans to give up his driving career.

Mr Wright, from Yarm, near Stockton,has been driving for 76 years without a blemish on his licence.

He began driving when he went to work for an electric supply company in Newcastle, and was provided with a Morris 10 by his employers.

For his "driving test", the garage foreman took him out in a similar car to the Morris and he had to change gears going up hill.

Mr Wright said: "I started by crashing the gears, but two weeks later I didn't, and that was when I passed the 'test'."

He has never taken a test since and has owned a variety of cars over the years.

Mr Wright now drives a Mazda 323, which he bought in 1990 and only has 40,000 miles on the clock.

His favourite drives are around the North York Moors and Dales.

He said: "It is lovely. I have done lots of exploring - there is some wonderful country."

However, he has mixed feelings about driving.

He said: "My balance is not so good as it was, but it makes a big difference to me that I can get out and about and do my shopping and such.

"However, I don't like driving at night."