Yellow car owners join rally in support of 'ugly' car

Yellow car owners have rallied in support of a vehicle blamed for ruining tourists' photographs in a picturesque Cotswold village.

A convoy of 100 cars has driven through Bibury in an act of solidarity towards Vauxhall Corsa owner Peter Maddox, 84.

Mr Maddox has come under fire for parking his car outside his cottage in Arlington Row.

Tourists have complained that it "ruins" the view and, earlier this year, the vehicle was vandalised.

The notorious 'ugly' yellow car has been described as 'photobombing' a picture perfect scene

Hundreds of yellow car owners applied to join the drive-through, which had a set limit of 100 cars for safety.

Organiser Matty Bee, from Coventry, said it was "a celebration of anything yellow".

He added: "The response has been amazing and overwhelming; people from all over the country and all over the world have applied to join the group.

"We've had everything here from a three-wheeler and a Mini to a Lamborghini super car...I've never seen so many yellow coloured cars in one place."

Mr Maddox, who watched the convoy as it drove past his cottage, said he was "overwhelmed" by the show of support for his yellow car.

'We are having a celebration of anything yellow' organisers of the yellow car convoy said

Bibury, near Cirencester, was once described by William Morris as "the most beautiful village in England".

The National Trust owns the 17th Century cottages of Arlington Row, which are featured on the inside cover of the British passport and are some of the most photographed dwellings in the country.

Mr Maddox lives in one of the former weavers cottages on Arlington Row

Complaints about Mr Maddox's car began in 2015 after Lee McCallum posted a picture of the car with the comment: "Picture postcard street photobombed by ugly little yellow car."

Numerous visitors then took to Twitter claiming it "ruins" the view and is a "shot spoiler".

In February, vandals scratched the word 'move' into the car's bonnet, damaged panels and smashed its windows - causing approximately £6,000 of damage.

At the time, a defiant Mr Maddox said that if it was too expensive to repair the car he would buy a replacement - in lime green.

Yellow cars

Arlington Row attracts visitors from around the world

• According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), yellow was the 10th most popular car colour in the UK in 2016.

• There were 12,431 registrations of yellow cars last year, but the most popular colour in the UK was white with 552,329 registrations

• In 2011, yellow topped an AA survey of 'safest' cars when 15 per cent of members said it was the safest car colour

• Generations have played the yellow car game, where the first person to spot a yellow car and shout 'Yellow car' may gently hit whoever they choose.

• Yellow cars come in every shade from "viper yellow" to "lemon yellow", but Vauxhall has said it is considering renaming the colour of the yellow Corsa to "Maddox yellow" in support of the pensioner.