CAR enthusiasts were in for a treat this weekend as two separate rallies celebrated the trusty Mini and classic car.

CAR enthusiasts were in for a treat this weekend as two separate rallies celebrated the trusty Mini and classic car.

Mini owners across Suffolk put the hit film The Italian Job to shame by getting 99 of the cult cars out on the road as part of a trans-Suffolk tour.

Organised by the Bury Mini Club, nearly 100 of the famously diminutive vehicles took part in the tour from Bury St Edmunds to Aldeburgh - a fifth more than last year.

Richard Mortlock, one of the organisers, said the number of Minis assembled for the drive was “quite incredible” adding the event, which included the tour and a prize draw, will have raised more than �1,000 for the Rainbow Ward at West Suffolk Hospital and the Aldeburgh Combined Charities.

Meanwhile in the north of the county, a parade of gleaming classic vehicles attracted hundreds of admirers in Southwold yesterday lunchtime.

Nearly 40 vehicles, ranging from a beautiful pre-war Rolls-Royce to utilitarian Army Jeeps, took part in the annual Halesworth to Southwold classic vehicle run.

A leisurely 34-mile drive through countryside and villages ended, by tradition, in front of Southwold Pier.

Organiser Cyril Salisbury, 74, of Reydon, near Southwold, the proud owner of a 1947 US Army Willys Jeep, said: “We had a very good turnout with people coming from as far afield as Wymondham, Sheringham, Holt and Ipswich to take part.

“When we arrived in Southwold we were greeted by another 12 vehicles, the owners of which had decided not to take part in the run, but to turn up at the end.”

The retired post office manager said a crowd of people turned up specially to see the vehicles, which also included a 1953 MG and a late 1940s Triumph Mayflower.