Batman fans are in for the treat of their lives when the Batmobile cruises on to the Festival Leisure Park tomorrow.

The £300,000 car is coming as part of the hype surrounding the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger.

Amanda Mills, marketing manager for the leisure park, said: “We reckon this is going to be an amazing day for Batman fans – a chance to get up close to a Batmobile!

“We will allow fans to have their photos taken next to the car for a small donation, which will all go towards the Essex Air Ambulance.

“We’re hoping people will give generously for this unique experience.

“They will have to bring their own cameras, though. We won’t be selling photos, but we don’t think this will be a problem.”

The Batmobile is not the futuristic stealth bomberstyle machine from the new movie, but the one driven by Michael Keaton in the earlier series of films in the Nineties. It will be on loan from its base, the Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick, Cumbria.

Ms Mills added: “Unfort-unately, people won’t be able to sit in the car, let alone drive it, as it’s worth too much money.

“We are having to transport the car down from Cumbria on a massive lorry as it can’t be driven very far.”

The Michael Keaton Batmobile appeared in Batman Returns which hit cinemas in 1992, also starring Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Danny DeVito as the Penguin.