AN AVID Back to the Future fan spent about £80,000 restoring a working DeLorean, which he uses to take his three kids to school.

James Napier, an ardent superfan of the 1980s film, has spent the last five months bringing the iconic car to life, after buying it for £55,000 in Kent.

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Special car - the DeLorean

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Time circuits on! - the inside of the £80k car

The 37-year-old, from Wickford, is able to take his three children to school in the iconic car, which he says is a delight for them.

He said: “The kids love it. You see other people’s jaws drop when we drive past.

“It’s a fully functioning car.

“It’s passed its MOT and it runs like a dream.

“There’s only one other like it in the UK. It’s really rare and one of a kind.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy it. It was one of my childhood dreams to have one.”

James explained how he managed to turn the wreck of a car into the working car it is today. He added: “It was just a pipe dream.

“The car was an absolute mess. I was completely nuts.

“I wanted to try and get as many things from the films into my car. There’s a few resistors in there that have come from the actual car.

“I reckon I’ve spent more than1,200 hours working on it. It was a seven days a week job.

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88mph? - the iconic 'Outatime' reg plate

“It usually costs around £30,000 to do up these sort of cars from the bottom up.

“Everything has been re-done on the inside and on the outside.”

The keen fan said he takes the car along to charity events across south Essex.

James said: “We take the car to all sorts of things.

“We’ve been to charity events in Pitsea, Stock and Wickford. People love to see it and constantly want a picture with it.

“When we posted on Facebook that we had bought it, loads of people messaged me and asked me to take their kids out in it.

“We drive it everywhere we go - you’ve got to make the most of it.

“The family adore it, although my wife probably doesn’t want to know how much it has cost me in total to restore.”