WORLD record-breaking engineer John Getty is a man with a mission - to lift the lid on one of the biggest blunders in East Lancashire's industrial past.

He is investigating the hidden tale of the world's first jet-powered car which he believes was crashed on a 'butty run' near the Lucas Northbridge factory in Daneshouse, Burnley, more than 50 years ago.

All his attempts to unearth the truth behind the top-secret Rover Jet 1 project - and its embarrassing brush with a garden wall - have come to nothing.

Now, he is turning to readers of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph to help solve the mystery and literally to add another chapter to the story of world-class manufacturing in the region.

"The Rover Jet 1 was a top-secret Government project that was apparently sent to Lucas' Old Wood Top factory for some final alterations," said John, chairman of Nelson-based PDS Engineering.

"A jet engine was fitted to an old Rover P4-75 and it was the first car in the world to be powered by jet - a real breakthrough at the time."

John's late father, William, was an engineering superintendent Lucas at the time of the incident, around 1951 or 1952.

As a child, he remembers his father pointing to the spot at the junction of Rectory Road and Brougham Street where the futuristic jet car crashed. Since then, several other people have mentioned the mysterious affair.

"From what I have been able to piece together, some young lads from the factory took the car out on a test run to buy sandwiches," he said.

"On the way back, as the driver took his foot off the accelerator to turn into Brougham Street, the car failed to slow down, demolished a garden wall and landed upside down.

"On the road, the jet engine was unnoticeable, but after it ended up on its roof, all its secrets were there for everyone to see.

"I have been told that all the apprentices were sent out with a tarpaulin to hide the evidence before a crane could recover the prototype."

A spokesman for Rover confirmed that Lucas had been involved in the development of the Jet 1 supercar, but said there were no records of the prototype being crashed in Burnley.

"It is not something that would ever be included in company records," he said. "But we would certainly be interested to hear more about the incident from anyone working at Lucas at the time."

John is researching a book on engineering excellence in East Lancashire and wants to include the story of the Rover Jet 1 alongside other achievements such as Frank Whittle's jet engine and Donald Campbell's ill-fated attempt at the world water speed record in Bluebird, which was built at Samlesbury.

The larger-than-life engineer is no stranger to world record bids.

It all began with Richard Noble's Thrust SSC which broke the sound barrier to claim the world landspeed record in 1997.

John became part of the engineering team and was in Arizona's Black Rock Desert when Thrust became the fastest vehicle ever at more than 850 mph. Since then, he has worked on Richard Branson's hot-air ballon exploits and is working with the North West's very own rocket man Steve Bennett.

Memories of the Rover Jet story came flooding back when John saw it at an exhibition at the National Science Museum in London.

Now, he is determined to discover the truth and hopes to speak to Lucas workers who were involved in the project.

He can be contacted at PDSEngineering, Tel: 01282 619848.