Students restoring Northampton Saints 'punishment car'

Students have been practising on a Reliant Rialto that used to belong to Northampton Saints

College students have been given the task of restoring an old three-wheeler once used as a "punishment car" for Northampton Saints rugby team.

The Reliant Rialto was acquired by the Premiership club 20 years ago and was used for about a year.

It then disappeared but turned up again in a "poor old state" in Harlestone Firs, near Northampton, earlier this year.

Motor mechanics students are now trying to restore it to its former glory.

Lennie Newman, who played for the Saints in the 1980s and went on to manage the club, said: "It was acquired by the club from a garage in Thrapston.

"If a played messed up in training, or was late, or they did something stupid, they would have it for a week as a bit of a punishment."

Jon Sleightholme, a former Saints player, was happy to pose for a photo in the car in about 2002

Former player Ben Cohen had it for three weeks after being caught doing donuts in his own car in the club car park, Mr Newman said.

At the end of the season, a businessman bought it at a charity auction and put it on display for several years, but then it was moved and vandalised.

'It's a wreck'

Corey is one of the motor vehicle engineering students who have been working on the Reliant at Northampton College.

The car was salvaged after being rediscovered at Harlestone Firs, near Northampton

He said: "I do like a challenge and I do restoration as a part-time job, but I've never done a three-wheeler before so it's something different and it is a wreck."

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Students at the college welcomed the arrival of the Reliant Rialto because there is currently a shortage of old cars for students to work on.

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Matt Pardon, who teaches on the motor mechanics course, said there were various reasons why it was difficult to get old cars to practise on.

"With the current climate as it is, a lot of people people are trying to hold on to their cars as long as possible, so there's a shortage of scrappage cars," he said.

Matt Pardon and Nick Burton teach motor mechanics at Northampton College

"We're struggling at the moment for used cars or end-of-life cars before they go to the scrapyard for the students to be able to have the opportunity to work on real-life cars.".

The college wants anyone with cars, car parts of accessories they can donate to get in touch.