VINTAGE car enthusiasts blew a fuse when Bolton council told them they would have to pay a £1 administration fee for entering their cars into local motor shows.

But they were driven round the bend with frustration when an avalanche of identical entrance forms arrived through their letter boxes.

David Goddard of Southfield Drive, Westhoughton, says he received seven forms on consecutive days.

He said he spent a small fortune renovating a 1949 Alvis and cannot see why he should have to pay to show it to the public.

He stormed: "It's ridiculous, it is like charging the Beatles £1 each to put on a free concert. They would not have a show without us.

"To rub salt into the wounds, the forms just kept arriving and arriving. I was deluged with them.

"They say they need the £1 to cover administration costs but it must have cost them more than that to send the forms out."

Jason Tyler of the Old Wheels Society said they had also received a mountain of forms.

He said: "The council make money out us anyway. Automania is starting to become a very popular event and they hire out hot dogs stalls and the like.

"It is not a lot of money but it is insulting to ask us for £1 for every show. Every spare penny we have goes into our cars so we are paying out to attract people to council events."

A council spokesman said they could not understand why Mr Goddard had received so many forms but promised to look into it.

He said: "The events budget has been cut this year and this is why we have to charge £1 for administration."

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