The 'Haunted' Minor (from 'The Derby Trader' 23/3/83)

A 19 year old Derby girl is giving away her car because of a terrifying experience which convinced her it was haunted.

Diane Wairnsley was thrilled when her father bought her an old Morris Minor at the end of 1981. It provided a little extra incentive for her to pass her driving test - which she duly did last summer.

Then funny things began to happen. One night Diane and a group of friends were driving to Ockbrook when they heard a knocking on the rear and side windows. Later there was a series of unexplained bumps and minor collisions. But it was an incident last December that forced Diane to throw away the keys for good. "I was taking someone on a short trip down to Chaddesden and coming back along Lime Grove about 7.15pm when it happened. I felt a pair of hands grabbing my shoulders from the back seat, firmly but not forcefully.

"I thought it was my younger sister who'd hidden on the journey and said: 'Stop it, Rachel, don't be silly ... not when I'm driving.' I glanced round and there was no-one there", said Diane. "I felt awful and rushed home as white as a sheet. My hair was actually standing up on the back of my head. I didn't think my dad would believe me but when he saw me, and realised how I felt, he did."
Diane said she decided immediately to give up the car. She has kept it in case her younger brother, who has yet to pass his test, might want it. The car - registration JRY 367E - was purchased from a dealer in Alvaston at the end of 1981. He told the Trader: "It had been standing in my yard a while. I had it from a chap in Burnaston who had bought it for his son but apparently his lad had never got on with it and hardly touched it
Derbyshire police were unable to give any details of the vehicle but referred inquiries to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Centre in Swansea where a spokesman said the history of the car would be looked at.