Widow's sadness over memories

Eric Morecambe's widow Joan is to sell his beloved Rolls-Royce, after keeping it in the garage for almost 20 years.

The car, registration number EM 100, goes under the auctioneer's hammer at Coys in London on December 4.

It has been kept in perfect condition and is expected to fetch around £24,000.

Joan, 75, told The Mail on Sunday: "I should have sold the car years ago but I am a terrible hoarder and have been clinging on to it for reasons that I don't really understand myself.

"There,s still something about it that makes me not want to let it go. The car meant a great deal to him. It was a sort of ambition to have one ­ when you bought a Rolls-Royce you had arrived."

Eric, who died after a gig in May 1984, was its only owner and it has 74,000 miles on the clock.

Joan, who married Eric in 1952, added: " I think about him every day, his memory never fades."

Published: 16 Nov 2003