BEAULIEU was swept by motor mania at the weekend as thousands of car-crazy visitors flocked to the International Autojumble.

A 12-acre site at the National Motor Museum was transformed into an outdoor department store selling a huge range of auto accessories.

Nearly 2,000 traders took part in the event, billed as the biggest open air sale of motoring items this side of the Atlantic.

Highlights of the autojumble included the Austin 7 Challenge, thrown down by the museum and taken up by members of the 750 Car Club.

Their task was to build an Austin 7 from scratch, using parts purchased at the two-day show.

Cars for sale included an MGA 1500 that was raced at Silverstone in the 1960s.

Parked nearby was a 75-year-old Hudson which was a star attraction at the 1926 motor show at Olympia.

Other vintage vehicles in the Beaulieu line-up included a 1915 La France chain drive roadster which competed in the famous Paris-Peking rally.

The sale also featured a 1956 Rolls Royce hearse, a former London taxi and a red Land Rover formerly owned by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and a 1951 Daimler DH 27.

Stands at the autojumble sold every conceivable item connected with motoring, but bargain-hunters could also buy surplus signs discarded by London Underground.