Maud enjoys Jensen trip

Grandmother Maud Pritchard enjoyed a trip down memory lane by taking a spin in a classic Black Country-built sports car as an 85th birthday treat.

Maud Pritchard worked for car makers Jensen for 27 years.

Fans of the Jensen Interceptor which was built in West Bromwich included Sir Cliff Richard. As a birthday surprise, her daughter Joyce Bradley tracked down one of the few owners in the Midlands who agreed to drive from Shropshire to make the Kelvin Way resident's day.

Maud, who celebrated her birthday yesterday knew nothing of the surprise, but admitted she knew her daughter was "up to something".

She said: "I knew Joyce had something up her sleeve, but I didn't know what, I just couldn't believe it."

Maud, who has two grandchildren, Ellie, aged 24 and Jo, 20, started work at Jensen in 1968 where she was the only woman working in the parts and services department.

She retired aged 60 in 1983, before being asked to return as a part-time cleaner, which she did for seven years.

Daughter Joyce, aged 56, who planned the surprise, said: "It was a bit of a trip down memory lane. In the early days when I lived here sometimes the mechanics would bring mum home in a Jensen Interceptor.

"The car was outstanding and I could always tell when mum was coming home because of the roar of the engine.

"After asking friends if they knew anyone who owned a Jensen car, Joyce was finally tipped off about an address in Bridgnorth where the Jensen had been spotted on a driveway.

"One night I came home from work and decided to go in pursuit of the Jensen.

The red 1973 Jensen Interceptor Mk III car belonged to Steve Johnson, who after hearing the story of the surprise, decided he would take Maud for a spin.

Born in 1923, Maud attended Holy Trinity School in Smethwick. She left at 16 and during the war worked at the Birmid factory in Smethwick, which made parts for planes.

It was here she met her husband Geoff, in the RAF, and after courting for just eight months the couple married at St Albans Church in Smethwick.

They had one daughter, Joyce, and were married for 55 years before Geoff passed away in 2000 following a heart attack.

The couple had any happy years and particularly enjoyed holidaying in Devon, Cornwall and Austria.

To celebrate her birthday Maud was also treated to a slap-up meal at The Bromsgrove Hotel in Bromsgrove.