Jody Bevan: Auto_Lass tells us about her first car and why she loves driving in Yorkshire

She had her first car, a Mini Metro, back in the UK before she passed her test but it had a fault with the starter motor which she used to resolve with a hit from a metal bar.

But on the day of her test it would not start. “I was 10 minutes late for my test and they wouldn’t let me take it,” said Jody, 45.

“That was it for the Metro. I fell out with it. I passed my test later with my instructor’s car and then bought a Fiat Uno for £40 from a scrapyard.

“All it needed for its MoT was a handbrake cable,” she said.

Her favourite car was a Vauxhall Astra GTE which she remembers with particular fondness but her current daily car is a 44-year-old Ford Escort.

“It’s great and I love driving it but it winters I switch to a Range Rover with a 4.2 litre supercharged engine.”

Jody, of Oldham, now has a big social media following under the name Auto_Lass and aims to encourage more women to be confident with cars.

“It’s not difficult, it just needs perseverance,” she said. “I was encourage by Sarah Crabtree to launch a social media site and I haven’t looked back since.

“I have customers from all over the country including a lot in Yorkshire and I love driving over that way.”

She says her father – who loved Fords, especially Capris – gave her a love of motoring.

“I have a Capri restoration job lined up and I’m looking forward to that,” she said.