AN East Lancashire firm is being forced to turn work down because it cannot find staff with traditional mechanic skills.

Rishton-based Autotune, which specialises in the production and maintenance of racing and classic cars, said the role was “a dying profession”.

The firm has been trying to fill positions for six months, and has made calls to technical colleges but with no success.

Bosses said the majority of applicants were ‘auto technicians’ who use electrical equipment to diagnose car problems.

However, the company said it needed an “old fashioned mechanic” who knew how to put together an entire car and the reasons why a part needed replacing.

Autotune managing director Anthony Taylor said: “The technical colleges are turning out students trained to use machines, rather than build cars.

“They don’t have to think about what they are doing, the machine will tell them what to do and what part to replace.

“The original way of doing it involved building cars from scratch, which is what we do here.

"We produce a replica Jaguar, so the candidate would have to really know what they are doing.

“If something on the car is broken, they need to know why that is, not just what bit to replace.

“It’s also very interesting work because we race cars all over the world, so it is a very exciting job for somebody with the right knowledge.

"At the moment we are turning work down, so we could probably offer two positions if we could find the right people.”

The company formed in 1969 and has numerous racing successes.

Anthony said: “Really it is a job for an enthusiast.

"However, when we call the colleges and tell them to call us if they know of someone suitable, we don’t hear from them again.

"It would be an incredible job for the right person.”