A UCLan photography student has restored a 1965 Morris Minor, using it as her model for her Instagram followers.

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Becca McIlroy has named her car Lionel and takes him for drives all over the country, using him as a model for both her studies and Instagram profile.

Becca said: “As I’m studying photography, Lionel is my perfect model. You’ll often see me out at 4am some mornings – that’s how I get the majority of my Instagram photos with nobody around.

“I’ve been in Preston since September 2018 as I moved over here for university, from Northern Ireland.

“I’m going into my third year of BA Photography at UCLan. I’m from a small town on the Antrim Coast called Larne. I grew up just outside the town in the countryside.”

Becca has been going to car shows since her whole life and wants to carry on the family tradition of keeping classic cars.

Becca said: “My dad has always had classic cars and I was brought up going the car shows and travelling cross country for them.

“There’s even a photo of me getting my nappy changed on my dads first Morris minor.

“He bought Lionel for me when I was 12, a family friend in our local club was selling it. He’s the perfect ‘rolling restoration’.

“He’s always run exceptionally well and the main things that have improved over the years have been the cosmetics.”

Becca uses hire cars from time to time but has no plans to buy a newer car any time soon.

She added, “Aside from a few hire cars through university, I’ve only driven classics.

“I plan to always keep Lionel. I want to get him restored properly.

“I never see myself getting a modern car as I’m always driving up and down the country in Lionel so if I were to need one, I would just hire.”

If you want to see Becca and Lionel, you can visit her Facebook or Instagram.

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Have you seen Becca driving around with Lionel? Do you own a classic car? Tell us in the comments.