A CLASSY chassis is the icing on any wedding cake.

And Gerard Pilkington has a star-spangled set of wheels to get the bride to the church on time.

His latest - and longest - acquisition is a stretched Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine.

The white limo, favoured by movie stars and celebrities, used to belong to John Waine! Wigan businessman John Waine, that is.

Mr Pilkington, a former college lecturer, of Whalley Road, Accrington, has been collecting American cars as a hobby since 1970.

He also has a passion for the history of the American Civil War, and can claim an ancestor who is said to have made a fortune from a gold mine in the Yukon.

Now Mr Pilkington hopes to strike gold himself launching a chauffeur-driven luxury limousine service for weddings.

"I'm hoping it will pay for itself," said Mr Pilkington.

The plush and purring limo is equipped with a television, video recorder, cocktail cabinet with pop-up decanter, mirrored one-way glass, and electric windows to list but a few of its features.

The car is 23 feet long including its 48-inch stretch - modest compared to stretches of up to 16ft on some limos - and with a 4.1 litre engine does 20 miles to the gallon.

He said: "At the front it's like driving any other large car. It's just the extra length at the back and it follows wherever you go.

"The biggest problem is backing it."

The other cars in his collection include a Cadillac Eldorado convertible, two Corvettes and a Pontiac Transam.

Mr Pilkington taught engineering subjects at Nelson and Colne College and Accrington and Rossendale College before taking early retirement almost two years ago.

He is a member of the American Civil War Society, and in May will be having an exhibition of his oil paintings, some based on the Civil War, at Whitaker Park, Rawtenstall.

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