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Further proof that this year has been cursed has emerged after singer Chris Rea confirmed that his 2010 Ford Focus has failed its MOT due to a faulty oil pump.
The singer is now faced with the prospect of finding an alternative mode of transport to get him home this Christmas.
“I put the Focus in for its usual MOT at a garage in London I always use. I couldn’t believe it when the mechanic phoned to say that it was a few miles short of a catastrophic engine failure,” said the 67-year-old singer.
“He said it was due to improper lubrication caused by a faulty oil pump. They’ve got a new pump on order but it’ll be at least another week before it turns up and they can fit it.
“This is typical of 2018. First it was all that Brexit deal stuff, then Stephen Hawking and Stan Lee died, then Donald Trump started looking like he’d get away with everything and now this.
It couldn’t have happened at a worse time, it looks like it could be the train back to Middlesbrough for me this year, or a bloody National Express bus.”
Mr Rea admits that he is considering taking his car back from the garage and risking the long drive home for Christmas.
“Well, that’s up to him,” says mechanic Simon Williams.
“But unless he wants this year’s Christmas song to be Hitching Home for Christmas From Just North of South Mimms Services’ then I’d advise him to leave it with us for a bit.”
