AN elderly petrolhead had “tears rolling down his cheeks” when ten of his favourite cars pulled up outside his care home to mark his milestone birthday.

Bill Thompson is a much-loved resident at Corner Lodge, in Meadow Way, Jaywick, and last week celebrated his impressive 80th birthday.

Mr Thompson is a massive fan of classic cars and still owns a beautiful blue Cadillac, which he often likes to speak about with staff members.

In particular, the motor fanatic, who has dementia, adores Hot Rods, which are typically old American cars that have been modified with large engines.

Knowing this, as a special treat, the care home’s activities coordinator Tina Smith put a call into Mark Cutts from the Clacton American Hot Rods group.

As a result, on the day of his birthday, Mr Thompson was left overwhelmed when ten roaring cars pulled up and drove around the care home to honour his big day.

The home’s car park was also closed off so the variety of muscle cars could park safely, rev their engines, and allow Mr Thompson to have photos taken with them.

A spokesman for Corner Lodge said the unique surprise proved to be an emotional day for everyone involved, not least Mr Thompson.

“It really was a magnificent sight and although Bill is unable to communicate much due to his dementia, his eyes lit up,” they said.

“He had tears of joy rolling down his cheeks as he was shown each car and had his pictures taken with them.”

Due to the current coronavirus climate, the Clacton American Hot Rods are unable to meet-up in the same way they are used to, so made the most of outing.

Although she arranged the car-meet, for example, Tina Smith, activities coordinator for Corner Lodge, was stunned to see the response to her call to arms.

She added: “This is a dream come true for Bill.

“We were only expecting two cars to come, so to see a group like this come together is truly wonderful, and we can’t thank the Clacton American Hot Rods enough.”