Wheeler Dealers classic Fiesta stolen ahead of star appearance

A classic Ford Fiesta restored by TV’s Wheeler Dealers show has been stolen from outside the crew’s hotel.

The 1979 Fiesta 1300S was due to appear at a special collection of Fiestas at a car cafe near Leeds on 27 June but was taken from outside the Premier Inn in Pontefract the night before.

The car, described by the show’s star Mike Brewer as "possibly the best Mk1 Fiesta in the country" was the subject of a nut and bolt restoration and was due to be the star vehicle in the show’s 20th anniversary celebrations. 

Brewer’s co-host Mark Priestly said the entire Wheeler Dealers team were “heartbroken” over the theft and appealed for help in tracking down the rare vehicle. Brewer told the Car Dealer website: “Police…have got CCTV of a white Mercedes Sprinter van around the area fiddling around in the car park with torches somewhere in the early hours of this morning.

“And so we’re hoping there’s somebody out there who may see a white Sprinter van with a white covered trailer behind it."

In a video on social media, Brewer said the team had poured their “heart and soul” into the landmark project. He added: “We urge you to share those pictures and get them out to as many people as possible in the hope that the classic car community can come together and we can find our trailer and find our car and finish this epic show.”

In the video, Priestley adds: “Please do help as we’re heartbroken and it’s a car that deserves to be out there for the world to see, not being squirrelled away on the back of some thief’s trailer.”

The dark blue Ford Fiesta 1300S, registration JBY 10V, was due to make a special appearance at the Fiestaval event at The Motorist cafe, where it would be assembled alongside 500 other Ford Fiestas in the show’s biggest event.

The team said they had selected a Fiesta for the project partly due to the model due to end production next year after 47 years.