East Lancashire business sells military vehicle for £20K

9:24am Friday 4th July 2008

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A PROPERTY developer has concluded an explosive deal – selling a tank for £20,000.

B&E Boys of Waterfoot, has a military vehicles arm, with a vast collection of tanks and personnel carriers, stored at industrial units in Accrington, Blackburn and Rossendale.

Now director, Peter Boys, 39, has decided to sell a 35-tonne T55 battle tank to a US collector, along with two British Army 432 personnel carriers.

The tank, the main battle tank of the Soviet Union during the fifties and sixties, has a 105mm gun on it and carries a crew of three people.

Mr Boys said: “We sell a lot of military vehicles, but this tank would have been used in the Bosnian conflict.

“Because it is so reliable and robust it would have seen use in third world conflicts as well, but it’s definitely not been to America before.

“You’ve got to be a bit of a brute to drive one of these things. They were made for conflict, not for comfort! “I don’t know if this one killed anyone but it was used in anger.

“The weapon will have to be deactivated before it goes abroad to ensure the American authorities don’t impound it when it arrives!”

Hal Goldstein, who runs a guns store in Annapolis, near the US Naval Academy, in Maryland, has bought the vehicles with plans to use them to showcase his guns at promotional events.

He said: “I’ve been a military buff since I could walk.

“I’ve mostly been interested in US and German WWII stuff but recently I have become acquainted with modern British military vehicles as they are more easily accessible for Americans. We cannot import our own vehicles once they have left the country.”

Mr Boys, who has had a fascination with military vehicles since he played with toy plastic ones as a child, said the family bought their first vehicle about 20 years ago – a small British scout car.

“We sell a lot of military vehicles and we have about 100 at the moment. At least we have them if there are any civil disputes! “It will be sad to see the tank go but my dad is going to Prague so hopefully he will get something new!”

B&E Boys recently used the vehicles to take clients around its Bolton site as part of a launch day.

The US Buyer Hal learned about the T55 and personnel carriers when he came over to the War and Peace Show held in Tonbridge in Kent, which staff from the B&E Boys have attended for the last 15 years.