A clockwork van has taken to the streets of Bristol to promote the reliability of heating company Combiline.

The life-size replica of the small wind-up toy was created by James Mitcham, managing director of Combiline, to share the message that his company’s combination boiler servicing, repair and installation service is as reliable as clockwork.

He also hopes that the spectacle will help engage local people in discussing how to reduce their fuel bills.

“People are fascinated by the ‘clockwork’ van and are keen to have a chat to find out if it’s real, how it works, how much it costs, how far it goes on one wind-up and if it can be used on the motorway! “ he said.

Although he did admit that the adapted 1970’s Morris Minor is powered by a normal engine rather than the replica key made with the help of his father-in-law.

“A lot of people have obviously got older boilers in their properties and are not aware of the savings that could be made,” he added.

“We get talking about what I do and it’s then that I can really explain my passion to people for reducing fuel bills, lowering greenhouse pollutants and making sure we will have a world for our children to inherit through the use of new and economically sound technologies.”