IT may not have been the fastest motoring procession of all time but Harwell residents were left delighted by a convoy of veteran cars over the weekend.

Villagers came out of their homes on Saturday, surprised to see the 70 strong fleet of vehicles pass through on their way to UTC Oxfordshire, none going faster than 35mph.

Chairman of Harwell Parish Council David Marsh said they had not been expecting such a big trail of cars.

He added: "We did not really know what was going on.

"We all came out at about 10 o'clock in the morning because we had been told the night before, only for them to have already gone through the village.

"They did a turn around and came back through Harwell so we could see them all."

The annual event, run by the Mid-East section of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain, takes different routes across the country each year.

This year Oxfordshire was the destination as they stayed at the Oxford Belfry and then travelled to Haddon on Sunday.

Organiser Michael Edwards said the Creepy Crawly rally was a tradition that started more than 25 years ago.

He added: "It was called Creepy Crawly because of how slow these cars go.

"All veteran cars have been made before and up until 1918 so of course they are not going to be as fast as some other vehicles on our road today.

"The oldest vehicle in the rally at the weekend was a 1899 steamer.

"I think the highest speed some of them go up to is 35 miles per hour, with the majority reaching about 25 miles per hour."

Founded by Bryan Firth in 1991, the Creepy Crawly is the largest gathering of veteran cars in the UK outside of the annual London to Brighton Run, attracting entrants from all over the EU as well as the UK.

For more information about the next Creepy Crawly rally visit: vccofgb.co.uk