A DARWEN pensioner who thinks nothing of undertaking 1,000 mile car journeys has spoken about the full extent of her desire to drive.

And 82-year-old Mary Wright, of Elizabeth House, Sudellside, claims the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) ongoing failure to process her car tax documents is leaving her unable to hit the place she loves most - the open road.

For over 40 years Mrs Wright has travelled the length and breadth of the country and eight years ago, at the age of 74, she made the arduous 1,000 mile round trip from Darwen to John O' Groats.

"I'd been thinking about it for a while and I just decided to do it. I had family up there I wanted to track down," said Mrs Wright, of her trip to the north of Scotland.

And for a driver who claims not to exceed 60mph, that is over 17 hours behind the wheel of her trusty Volvo. And it does not end there.

"The following year I went to the other side of Inverness and then a few months later to Aberfeldy," she said.

Aberfeldy in Perthshire was Mrs Wright's original home town before she moved to Lancashire over 60 years ago.

The 560-mile trip "home" was once a regular journey for the pensioner, who has also seen the best of what England has to offer.

"Two years ago I went to Cornwall - a round trip of over 600 miles - and I have recently driven to Leeds.

"I'm a bit gammy in one leg but that does not affect me using the clutch and I've got excellent eyesight.

"I've also got 46 years of no claims discount because I'm a careful driver."

And yet now she is left stranded at her Darwen home, locked in a battle with the DVLA to get her car taxed because she has lost her log book and did not receive a standard car tax renewal form.

Mrs Wright also hit out a spokesman for Help the Aged who said they had never heard of someone so old driving such distances.

She said: "I couldn't believe it.

"I use my car all the time and have driven since 1960 and never had an accident, not bad for an 82-year-old is it?"