THE 1974 Ford Cortina used in time-travelling cop drama Life on Mars has fetched £12,800 on an auction website.

The car was placed for sale on eBay with the proceeds going to Comic Relief.

It was the one used in both series of the award-winning television show, which was filmed in Greater Manchester, including parts of Bolton.

Its description on eBay was written in the style of Life on Mars' uncompromising, old-style officer DCI Gene Hunt, played by Philip Glenister. It admitted there was "one or two battle scars" from chases.

Among the places the car had visited were sites in Farnworth and Great Lever which were among many transformed into 1970s settings.

The description read: "She has one or two battle scars: a small mark on the bonnet where DI Sam Tyler decided to actually try and catch a nonce and climbed all over it, plus a few slight scratches on the side where I slid her into some bins during a pursuit," it said.

"Take it from me. She runs like a dream. You can trust me, I'm a copper."

The series follows Mancunian detective DI Sam Tyler - played by John Simm - with viewers discovering how he came to find himself in 1973, following a car accident in 2006.

Simm stars alongside Philip Glenister, who plays DCI Gene Hunt and has also appeared in TV dramas Clocking Off and Vincent and in the movie Calender Girls.

5:14pm Thursday 15th March 2007

By Staff Reporter

Courtesy of The Bolton News 2007