SOARING temperatures proved too much for some veterans of the road in the North-East yesterday.

An estimated ten per cent of the entries failed to finish the Beamish Reliability Run, an annual test for ageing, but lovingly maintained vehicles, over more than 150 miles of the region's rural roads.

More than 100 classic cars and motorbikes set off from the Eden Place picnic area, alongside the Beamish Museum site, near Stanley, County Durham, at 8.30am yesterday.

But by 6pm last night several had failed to reach the finish, at the end of the round route, up hill and down dale in County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Organiser George Jolley, a veteran of all 29 reliability runs, said it was among the hottest days he can remember for the event, traditionally staged on the third weekend in June.

As a result, several engines overheated among the array of cars, motorbikes and commercial vehicles, all pre-dating 1951.

"It's been very, very hot, and it's proved a problem, especially on the steep climbs when there's no air getting into the radiators.

"It's meant to be a testing course, a test of the drivers, the navigators and the reliability of the cars.

"Some of the climbs are very severe even for the modern car, and it has maybe been too much for some of the vehicles with today's temperatures," said Mr Jolley.

As ever, yesterday's lunchtime stop proved a real draw for visitors to Wensleydale, as crowds congregated on the village green in Bainbridge, North Yorkshire, to cast an eye over the vintage vehicles.