FARMER Stephen Cleminson made a desperate dash across Europe after being struck with a life-threatening condition - so he didn't miss a trip in his vintage car.

Mr Cleminson thought a family holiday would be the best thing to help his wife and children overcome their very public battle with foot-and-mouth disease, at their farm near West Auckland, County Durham.

His daughter Jessica wrote a diary account of her devastation at learning her pet cow, Caroline, was to be slaughtered along with other animals at New Hummerbeck Farm.

The story was reported in The Northern Echo and newspapers worldwide, and even Prime Minister Tony Blair gave the family his sympathies after reading her emotional account.

But the family's fortunes suffered another terrible turn when a blood clot developed in Mr Cleminson's chest shortly after he arrived at Malaga airport.

He spent three days in intensive care in Spain and, after a week, his wife Susan and two daughters had to return to Britain without him.

He said: "I had to stay another week to see the doctor. He said I could travel back, but couldn't fly. I had to come back by train, which was a 20-odd hour train journey."

No sooner had he got back home, than Mr Cleminson rolled out his 1905 Brown Brothers car to take part in the Beamish Reliability Run.

The car made history by being the oldest to take part in the run's 30-year history.

Mr Cleminson said: "I'd promised some people rides in the car and I don't like letting folks down.

"It was a shorter route this year, but there was one point when the passengers had to get out and push it up a hill.