HAVING recently purchased another car I was annoyed to find that the spare tyre was not only completely bald, but also the wrong size in spite of it having almost a year's MOT on it. (Yes, I should have checked beforehand).

On ringing the garage who sold it to me, I was told that the "spare" is not checked at the test. Not convinced - as many of my associates were not - I stopped at an MOT station and inquired and, yes, I was told only the tyres on the car are tested - not the spare.

So if I'd the misfortune to have a puncture on the way home and been forced to use the spare, or simply been stopped by the police when all the tyres would have been checked, I would have then found that I was driving illegally and liable to a very substantial fine.

Ridiculous? You've got to believe it, so be warned - next time you go to buy a car, remember to check the "spare", even if it has got a year's MOT certificate with it.

Margaret Zamir, Spennymoor.