‘Old cars putting road users at risk’

SOArING living costs are putting road users at risk, Halfords’s boss has warned.

The UK has the oldest car fleet in its history and hard-pressed owners are keeping vehicles going that risk safety, Graham Stapleton, chief executive of the motoring and cycling retailer, said yesterday.

Cars across the country are on average 8.7 years old, more than a year older than a decade ago.

The average scrappage age of a car, meanwhile, is 13 years – and there are 8.4m, or almost a quarter of all cars, running past that age. Stapleton said the average age of cars in the UK could top ten years before the cost of living crisis eases.

Halfords, meanwhile, reported that revenues grew by 9.2pc in the 20 weeks to August 19, compared with the same period last year. But the firm suggested the pandemic-fuelled bike boom had fallen victim to the cost of living crisis. The market for new bikes had been hit by customers having less money to spend, Halfords said.