MAMHILAD Park Estate in Pontypool threw open its gates to host its first charity classic car show.

Motor car mad Charlotte Gould manned the gates and welcomed almost 200 classic cars and hundreds of 'petrol heads' to the first Motors @Mamhilad event.

Charlotte, aged 11, officially opened the car show and family fun day on Saturday, which was being held in aid of Nevill Hall Children’s Centre Umbrella Appeal Charity.

Charlotte, from Pontypool, who has attended the centre in Abergavenny since she was a baby, said: "Seeing all these fantastic cars has been brilliant. There are so many it's difficult to choose my favourite.”

James Crawford, chief executive of Johnsey Estates, which owns and runs Mamhilad Park Estate, said: “We have acres of parkland and car parking here which we were delighted to offer for use by the Umbrella Appeal Charity to use for their car show. I’d like to congratulate the organisers on their success, which is a testament to all their hard work. We hope that this will be the first of many such events in the future."

Dad Matt, chairman of the Umbrella Appeal and who gathered fellow 'petrol heads' together to organise the event, said: "There was a fabulous mix of cars of all makes and genres. Car people are really special people and they have done us really proud by coming out and supporting this event.

"We can't thank Johnsey Estates enough for allowing us to use Mamhilad Park Estate to stage this event. They have been fantastic especially as we had to re arrange the original event due to the bad weather."

The Nevill Hall Children’s Centre Umbrella Appeal raises funds to provide enhanced services for the families and children who use the centre. Workshops, children’s parties and warm water swimming sessions are but a few of the activities provided to enable children with additional needs to enjoy the same activities as their peers.

In addition to the selection of cars, including Aston Martins, TVRs, a Honda NSX, Rolls Royce, E-Type Jaguars and 50s favourite the Austin A30, on show there were bouncy castles, face painting and games for the family to enjoy.