Bizarre mystery of car dug up in man’s garden while he renovates is finally solved

A man who unearthed a 1950s Ford Popular 103E while carrying out renovation in his garden has finally solved the bizarre mystery.

Picture the scene – it’s slap-bang in the middle of the Coronavirus lockdown and you decide to give your garden a bit of a makeover with some new decking.

But not long after getting going, you unearth a vintage car buried deep underground.

While the story might sound somewhat unbelievable, this was exactly what happened to John Brayshaw from Heckmondwike in West Yorkshire, UK.

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The man was stumped after discovering the Ford Popular

Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time a car has been found buried underground – this Range Rover faced a similar fate, before being dug up and cleaned up; while this 1957 Plymouth Belvedere spent five decades beneath a courthouse in Oklahoma.

Back in 2020, Brayshaw was furloughed from his job and decided to put the time off to good use by building a deck in his garden.

But shortly after he got going, he discovered a long-forgotten Ford Popular 103E buried below the surface.

The car, which appeared to be a grey color, was more or less intact – only adding to the intrigue of how it ended up there.

“It’s not something you find every day – it is literally in the middle of my garden,” Brayshaw told the BBC at the time.

“It’s just weird how it’s down there.”

Well, we can’t argue with that.

The bizarre mystery was later solved

Stumped by how and why the car ended up in his garden, Brayshaw appealed to anyone with any information about the vintage motor to get in touch.

Weirdly, the appeal worked; within weeks, someone contacted the homeowner and was able to shed some light on the unusual situation.

The car had previously belonged to a man called Harold Lyles, who lived in the property before Brayshaw.

Back in 1964, Lyles was told by mechanics the Ford Popular was a total write-off, and because he didn’t fancy paying a fee to have it taken away, he decided instead to bury it.

Seems fair enough.

Brayshaw was delighted the mystery was solved after Lyle’s son saw his appeal and got in touch.

“It’s absolutely fantastic to have the answers to the mystery,” he told the Telegraph and Argus. 

“I’m over the moon to have the car and put a story to it.”