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Britain's 'oldest working petrol pumps' revealed

( 04/11/2009 )

A village forecourt in Wiltshire has laid claim to the oldest working petrol pumps in Britain.

The five vintage pumps have been standing proudly in front of Laurel Garage in Ramsbury for more than 50 years.

Only the nozzles - designed for vehicles from the early 1950s - have been changed to fit modern cars.

And it has been a labour of love for 65-year-old owner Bernard White, who has kept dispensing from the rusty pumps despite the rise of supermarket garages and petrol price wars.

He has also defied the EU's metrication of Britain to retain prices in gallons - so you'll need to be a dab hand at mental arithmetic to make any sense of them.

Petrol currently costs £5.53 a gallon (4.55 litres) at the garage - around 60p more than the average UK price - on account of its village location.

White needs to keep his eyes on the antiquated pumps lest a customer with a particularly big tank fill up: after 20 gallons (91 litres) the meter starts from zero again.

But even though they don't bring in much profit these days, the owner is on the lookout for spares with which to keep the faithful units pumping.

"We have about 10 customers a week," White said.

"Some are just passing by but others are regulars because they like using the pumps.

"For some people petrol stations are so few and far between they are glad to see us."

 

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