A COUPLE today spoke of their nightmare 18 months after "the car from hell" suffered a catalogue of problems which they say blighted their lives.

Gary and Audrey Catterall, of Wittlestone Head, Hoddlesden, bought the Mercedes people carrier to cater for the needs of their severely disabled son, Martin, 16, and a large family.

But problems led to them cancelling weekends away and days out becasue the car was frequently in the garage being fixed.

Nick Coyle, franchise director of Westwood Mercedes-Benz dealership, Whitebirk Drive, Blackburn, said: "Mr Catterall's car has been in far too many times and I can understand his frustration. We have offered him a similar replacement vehicle but we could not come to an agreement with him on the vehicle we were offering."

The dealership has offered a part exchange or said they would buy back the vehicle but Mr and Mrs Catterall said they still face a £10,000 loss.

Problems first occurred in October 2002 and since then the second-hand V220 CDI Ambiente, which they paid £20,000, for has been into the garage at least nine times. They said it is now valued around £9,000.

Each time the Catteralls have been offered a courtesy car and had the repairs carried out under warranty.

Gary, 54, said: "They did try to get the problem fixed but it got to the stage where it was getting beyond a joke. I went to pick it up one day after it had been repaired, got as far as the roundabout at Whitebirk and it went again so I drove round the roundabout took it back and picked up the courtesy car again.

"We only went for a Mercedes in the first place because we wanted it to run for a few years and it is supposed to be a very reliable vehicle. Last year the vehicle ruined our summer because we could not do anything because it was in the garage every week."

The car has also had leaking gasket seals and has leaked fuel while the Catteralls were driving to Paris' Euro Disney resort.

The Catteralls contacted a solicitor to try and recover the cost of the vehicle but have decided not to pursue the matter. Audrey said: "We bought the vehicle specifically because we have a son who is both physically and mentally disabled and uses a wheelchair and it met all his needs."