Booty-licious; Alison Young met the man with an addiction that keeps him clothed in the latest fashions.

Byline: Alison Young

PETER Foley is a self confessed addict. But it's not drink or drugs which are his downfall - it's car boot sales.

For the retired lecturer from Bridgend likes nothing better than to spend his Sunday mornings searching for the latest bargains at his local car boot sale.

So tomorrow morning as usual Peter be at the multi storey car park next to Aldi's in Bridgend town centre, at the weekly car boot sale run by the Bridgend Festival Committee.

"The truth is that I just love it - it's a trip into the unknown.

When you visit your local Tesco's, you more or less know what you are going to come out with but you never know what you are going to find at a car boot sale," said Peter, 62, a Bridgend county councillor.

Among his finds over the years have been African wall hangings, Picasso prints and a Swiss cow bell which he uses to call his five dogs in at night.

"I paid about pounds 2 for the Picasso and it's probably worth about pounds 50 but the value isn't important to me, it's just the pleasure of finding something which I like.

"And as for the Swiss cow bell that's been fantastic at helping me round the dogs up every night and where else but at a car boot sale would I have found something like that ?"

In a bid to curb his enthusiasm his wife Pat decided to join him on his weekly jaunts a few years back - but instead of reining in her husband, she got the bug too.

"She came along to try and curb my spending but now she is even worse than me," said Peter.

And if you are offered a cup of tea in their house these days, the chances are that the water will have been boiled in a car boot kettle and your cup and saucer will be very nice but probably won't match the plate for your biscuit - as they will both be car boot finds.

"I haven't bought a kettle or an iron from a shop in years, I pick them up for pounds 2 or pounds 3 at the car boot - they are both very simple instruments and as long as they do the job, that's fine by me."

And as for clothes Peter claims to be dressed from head to toe in Marks and Spencer's Blue Harbour range - all from the car boot sale or charity shops.

"I haven't bought any clothes in M&S for about 25 years but it's all I wear - I pop in occasionally just to see what trends will be turning up in the charity shop and the car boot next season."

Peter, whose latest favourite purchase is a pocket radio which he picked up for pounds 2, has a tip for anyone buying books at the car boot and that is to ensure the spine is split all the way through - as that means it's been read and is worth purchasing.

Another car booter Matthew Voisey, 44, an event organiser from Bridgend, is a seller not a buyer and takes a stall about four times a year.

He said: "It's a good way of decluttering your house, particularly of children's toys. If you go home with less than you left with then you know you've had a good morning."

The Sunday morning car boot sale in Bridgend attracts up to 200 stalls each week with cash raised by the Festival Committee being ploughed back into a series of events held in the town throughout the year.

The boot sale runs from 7am to noon. For further details contact 01656 661338.

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HUNTER: Car booter Peter Foley PICTURES: Richard Swingler