Classic car drivers respond to appeal to give Bradley an emotional send off

A convoy of up to 50 classic Minis will escort a teenager on his final journey this week.

Mini fanatic Bradley Parish was just 18 when he passed away in hospital in October from a suspected heart condition.

And with his funeral planned for tomorrow, his family have been overwhelmed by a recent request they put on Facebook inviting Mini owners to join the procession to Pontefract Crematorium.

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Bradley’s mum, Kerry, from South Elmsall, said: “We have been really surprised by the response, we just weren’t expecting it.

“We originally thought it would be nice to have a few Minis on his last journey, so we emailed Mini World magazine, and within minutes people were responding.

“We’ve had about 50 so far.

“We cannot thank Mini World magazine enough. All the people that have offered their time for our son, well, it’s just amazing.

“It’s something we will treasure forever, it’s fantastic.”

Bradley had been a student at Doncaster College where he was learning a trade as a welder and fabricator, but his passions in life were playing music on his guitar and of course, his classic Mini.

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He would often go to car shows with his grandad where he first fell in love with the pint-sized British car.

Kerry added: “He was really young when he said he wanted one, and we just played along with it knowing how expensive they are now.

“He got himself a paper round and saved up.

“When he was 17, he spent every penny he had on making this Mini roadworthy that his other grandad had.

“Bradley loved it, although he called it his ‘money pit’!”

The former Minsthorpe Community College pupil’s passion for his dark-red 1989 special edition Mini even won him an accolade at the Ackworth Car Show, where organisers were impressed with not only his car, but by Bradley’s passion.

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Kerry added: “He was not your typical teenager, he didn’t go out playing football - music and his car were his love.

“We are really proud of Bradley, he was one of the funniest people you could meet and such a happy lad.

“He was the type of kid that when you met him, you became his friend.”

Bradley will be taken from his home to St Luke’s Church in South Elmsall this Friday, March 31, where the ceremony will start at 2pm.

From there, the convoy of Minis will accompany him to Pontefract Crematorium.

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