The UK's oldest working tyres?

A farmer from St Austell has thrown down a challenge to other farmers; he believes he has the oldest set of original tyres on a working tractor. John Sweet's Ferguson FE35 has been used every day on his 20 acre market garden, since it was bought on July 31 1957. It still has the original Firestone 'Champion Ground Grip' tyres that it came supplied with. They have never had a puncture and still got the original air in them.

The tractor was bought by John's late father, who even used to drive it on the road occasionally to a rented field 2 miles away. John, who is now a retired lecturer, still uses the tractor to mow his grass and still has the original equipment that was bought with the tractor, including a three-furrow plough, a chiseller, a ridger and a harrow.

Commenting on John's long lasting tyres, Barry Coleman, Firestone's Marketing Manager said, "These tyres were manufactured at the old Brentford plant by a process known as 'gum dipping' which strengthened the nylon cord. They were about 90% rubber. These days, tyres are much more complex to meet the more demanding and varied needs of farmers. The fact is that modern tractors are more powerful and all that extra horse-power is transmitted to the ground via the tyres. They will also work longer days and be exposed to more roadwork. Tyres like our R9000 Evolution tyres are specially constructed to give longer life for use on roads whilst still giving excellent field performance."