Modern Mysteries

Man discovers a car buried in his back garden

By T.K. Randall
April 22, 2020 ·  12 comments

The Ford Popular was manufactured from 1953 to 1962. Image Credit: PD - AlfvanBeem The bizarre discovery, which the 40-year-old made while digging holes for decking posts during the coronavirus lockdown, would go on to spark a mystery spanning more than 70 years.

While the search for answers initially left him scratching his head, John got a lucky break when a man contacted him and explained that the car had been buried there by his father Harold Lyles.

The story goes that Harold - a World War II veteran and former electrician - had purchased the vehicle when it was three months old for his wife in 1958 however she ended up severely disliking it.

He drove the car for six years until it developed a mechanical fault which was too expensive to fix.Unwilling to pay the fee to have it towed away for scrap, Harold left it in his garden for a while before enlisting the help of his brother to bury it in the ground as a sort of time capsule for future generations.

Sadly Harold died in 1987, however his wife - who is 91 - has since been informed about the find.

"It's absolutely fantastic to have the answers to the mystery," said John. "I'm over the moon to have found the car and put a story to it."

"It's amazing that his family is still around and I'm glad they have got to see this."

Exclusive on @BBCLookNorth tonight - the man who found a 1950s Ford Popular car buried in his garden. It's a mystery. Was it a military vehicle? Why was it taken off the face of the earth and hidden away underground in West Yorkshire? pic.twitter.com/2Mf6HWmhhL

— Ian White (@IanWhiteNews) April 8, 2020

Source: Telegraph and Argus | Comments (12)

Tags: Buried