IT'S the early sixties and, forget about the Earls Court motor show - Burnley had its very own.

Run by Ford dealer C G Skipper, whose showroom was then in Oxford Road, it attracted huge crowds, for who travelling to the capital wasn't quite as easy as it is today.

This image, from our archives, was taken in 1961 and shows the garage team revving up for the two-week event, which, it was reported, had almost nearly 100,000 visitors.

They were able to view a full range of Ford models of the time - remember the Zephyr, Zodiac and Consul? - as well as the new Anglia.

Indeed, the garage had six of them on show, on a 20ft turntable, more than 30ft high and decorated with 3,000 flowers.

For the mechanically minded, a range of engines and automatic gearing mechanisms were also displayed, in section, to show how they worked.

For the rest of the family, there were caravans, fashion shows and a host of trade stands, selling new items in the world of motoring accessories, as well as a very busy tea garden.

Another favourite attraction were the daily film shows in the private cinema, which screened motoring, holiday and comedy films.