Shropshire ban hit racer Moss

Without a road licence, Moss was also unable to hold a competition licence.

According to a 1988 authorised biography by author Robert Edwards, he had lost his licence "for the heinous offence of changing lanes in the Mersey tunnel," but in fact a dip in our files shows that at Shropshire Quarter Sessions on April 13, 1960, Stirling Moss was found guilty of dangerous driving at Chetwynd, and banned from driving for 12 months.

The racing star had been driving with his then wife Katie when the Austin Seven – that was the name given to early models of the new Mini – which he had on test was in a head on collision with another vehicle, as he made his way to London from Oulton Park.

He and his wife were taken first to Newport Cottage Hospital, and later to Stafford General Infirmary, where they were treated for cuts and bruises.

The occupants of the other car were a man from Prenton, Birkenhead, and an RAF man called Shepton. They were taken to RAF Cosford hospital. They were not seriously hurt.

According to the biography, Moss felt he had been unfairly made an example of and was able to some extent to get round the ban by taking out an American licence which allowed him to enter events there and international events elsewhere.

Nevertheless, on British roads that Shropshire court's driving ban forced him to be a passenger, and he complained: "Since I haven't had a licence I've been driven by a lot of people, and I sit in the back sometimes trembling, wishing I'd got my crash hat on thinking 'Well, this chap's got his licence and I'm sure I'm safer on the road than this person.'"

Moss's crash was recalled a few years ago by Dave Williams, of Standford Service Station, near Newport, who had inside knowledge because he went to the scene to recover the wrecked Mini.

Speaking in 2015, Dave said: “I went and recovered Stirling Moss’ car from a car crash on Chetwynd Bend. He was testing a Mini for BMC and hit a green A35 van driven by an RAF person from Cosford. I collected the car from the side of the road.

“He had his first wife with him. I asked him if he was all right. He said yes. He said it’s taken a good blow or something like that and that he was testing for BMC.”

The crash had happened on September 29, 1959.

Dave recalled: “They had collided in a pretty heavy blow. Stirling Moss was going towards Newport and the chap from Cosford was going home. It was before the M6 opened so the A41 was the number one road.

“I did what I had to do. I lifted it and gave it a front suspended tow back to the garage here.

"I kept it here until the salvage people came and took it away. It was a write off, all smashed up, a real bad mess. I did have a photograph of it but can’t find it.”

About a week after the accident Moss came with his wife to the garage to see the wreckage. The spot where the crash happened is not part of the modern road layout.

"They bypassed it. You come down and round past Chetwynd Church on the left hand side and come to the A41 now and the bypass.

"The road went straight over there a little further and swooped around to the left to continue the A41 past a big stone cottage, and then it climbed out of there and got back on to the existing A41. It was in that dip. That bit of road is blocked off now.”

Moss appeared before Newport magistrates court several times before the case was finally dealt with by Shropshire Quarter Sessions.