A COLD War 'little tank' has been put up for sale and is being touted as a bullet-proof investment.

The Ferret scout car, a reconnaissance vehicle used by the British Army, is fully road legal and is surprisingly cheap to run.

Made in the 1960s, it is classed as a classic vehicle and is therefore tax exempt and does not require an MoT certificate.

It is also incredibly inexpensive to insure thanks to its half-an-inch thick armoured plating and anti-landmine protection that would easily shake off any prang.

The Ferrets were equipped with a machine gun on their turret to protect the two man crew.

Although the weapon on this one is a replica it is realistic enough to scare off the most hardened of traffic wardens.

The four tonne armoured vehicle was used by the British Army of the Rhine in Germany in the 1960s and '70s before it was decommissioned in the 1990s.

It was picked up several years ago by private collector Andrew Adams from Corfe Mullen.

He is now selling it at Woolley and Wallis Auctioneers of Salisbury for a pre-sale estimate of £20,000.

Ned Cowell, arms and armour expert at the auction house, has test-driven the Ferret so he can describe it to potential buyers.

The driver sits in a cramped central seat low down in the vehicle with a front hatch to look out of.

Behind is the raised seat the Ferret commander who is able to peer out of the turret.

Mr Cowell said: "It is enormous fun to drive and is remarkably easy.

"The interior is fairly compact and you are surrounded by a lot of metal. There is a holder for maps and smoke grenades right next to the driver.

"The steering wheel position is slightly above you and points down at your lap and you have a hatch on three sides of you to look out of.

"But if you are under attack you can pull the hatch up and look through vision slits to drive.

"It is a bit noisy but is probably just as loud as a tractor.

"It a military vehicle that is now accessible to normal people to own without having to have a massive private estate to drive it on.

"It is road legal and is not too big to handle on ordinary roads. It would certainly turn a few heads if you drove it into your local supermarket car park."

The Mark II Ferret was built by Daimler for the British Army.

It is powered by a 4.25litre Rolls-Royce engine that can propel it to speeds of 50mph.

It runs of petrol and does eight miles to the gallon (4.4 litres).

Despite it being over 50 years old, the Ferret has just 7,000 miles on the clock.

The dimensions of the Ferret are 6ft 3ins wide, 12ft 7ins long and 6ft 2ins tall.

It is being sold in May.