A CAR breakdown service giant has been taken over just weeks after it bought an East Lancashire firm.

Insurance group Direct Line has snapped up the Green Flag roadside recovery business in a cash deal worth £220 million.

In August Green Flag bought Accrington based Computa Tune which supplies vehicle inspections and car tuning services for an undisclosed sum.

Green Flag, based in Pudsey near Leeds, is the third largest roadside recovery business in the UK with 2.5 million customers

Direct Line, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland, launched its own recovery business Direct Line Rescue in May 1998 and has since attracted 330,000 customers.

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