'I can't repair cars due to JLR parts shortage'

Ashley Bernstein says he has cars he cannot repair due to a lack of parts

A garage owner who specialises in accident repairs for insurance companies said he had been left in limbo as a result of production continuing to be suspended at Jaguar Land Rover following a cyber attack.

Ashley Bernstein, owner of Merseyside Car Hospital in Birkenhead, told BBC Radio Merseyside: "It is becoming increasingly difficult to get parts - especially the more common parts."

He added: "Maybe we are able to get a couple of parts but we can't repair the whole vehicle. We've got two cars awaiting parts we can't repair properly.

"We have customers who are inconvenienced. We provide courtesy cars which at the moment we can't give to other customers."

Some cars can only be partially repaired as a result of the parts shortage

Mr Bernstein said some insurance companies, including NFU, had been very understanding.

"We are in negotiations with insurance companies and they are starting to supply hire cars to customers," he said.

The cyber attack at the end of August meant JLR was forced to shut down its IT networks.

Production at its factories - including at Halewood on Merseyside - will not resume until 1 October at the earliest.

Fears are growing that some suppliers - in particular the smaller firms who rely solely or largely on JLR - could go bust without support.

'Production lines'

It emerged on Wednesday that ministers are considering stepping in to support affected suppliers.

One idea being explored is that the government could buy component parts made by JLR's suppliers.

The idea would be to keep the supply chain going until JLR's production lines resume.

JLR, which is owned by India's Tata Motors, normally builds about 1,000 cars a day at Halewood and Solihull and Wolverhampton, both in the West Midlands.

About 30,000 people are directly employed at the three plants with about 100,000 working in the overall supply chain.

Some of these firms supply parts exclusively to JLR, while others also sell components to other vehicle manufacturers.