A dedicated team of motor mechanics spent a year restoring a dilapidated van to its former glory to provide a life-saving charity with a new events vehicle.

Aaron Ginn, managing director of AG Motors in Papworth Everard, and his 10 mechanics worked on the 2002 Ford Transit, which was about to be scrapped, for 60 hours and spent £10,000 stripping it bare and making it as good as new. They replaced almost every nut and bolt and then sprayed it bright orange before handing over the keys to Magpas on Wednesday (March 11).

“The van was pretty much ready to be scrapped and at the end of its life, but that was the point as I wanted a challenge,” said Aaron.

Aaron, 27, a father of two children aged five and nine, decided to take on the project when he heard the charity was desperate for a new events vehicle.

“We have done lots of work on the Magpas vehicles and I really respect the specialist work they do knowing that my children or anyone in my family could need them at some time I wanted to do something to help.”

Aaron, who set up AG Motors in 2009, said the biggest challenge was dealing with the rust and making time to work on the vehicle.

“The rust was literally eating the metal away and it needed a lot of welding also. All the team got stuck in and worked on the van at some point so it was a good feeling when we took it over to the Magpas operations base and handed the keys over to the paramedics on duty that day.”

Antonia Brickell, Magpas’s head of communications, said: “It looks amazing. It was handed over last week and has gone from the scrapyard to the finishing line.”