A former mechanic is building a replica of an RAF armoured car which would have been used in the Second World War in his garden.

Bill Hodgson, is building the replica Fordson Armoured car, which was used to fight German and Italian forces in the desert.

He has had only photographs to work from, but the vehicle is now roadworthy and will be taxed at the end of the month.

Bill, 63, of Darfield Road, Cudworth, said the vehicle, which used to be a dumper truck, needed finishing touches including a deactivated machine gun and a lick of paint.

He said: "I just built it as a hobby, it's just something that I enjoy doing.

"All my life I have been building cars and doing up classic cars and kit cars or doing one off specials - I even took the roof off a Porsche and made it into an open top car."

Bill has used his retirement fund to build the car, which has so far cost between £3,000 and £4,000.

The deactivated machine gun could cost him anywhere between £1,600 and £3,000.

He bought the vehicle on an auction website and started work by removing the body of the LDV Tipper and rebuilt it using 5mm steel and a nine inch angle grinder.

The rotating turret, which holds a gun, is the only part of the car which Bill has not made himself.

He got the idea about two years ago after visiting a bookshop and seeing a photograph of an armoured car, which caught his attention.

"I plan to take it to military shows with a banner explaining about them to show people what the men went to war in," he said.

He is hoping to paint it three colours - sand, slate grey and blue - and have it up and running by the end of the month.