This dazzling multi-coloured Rolls-Royce is becoming a familiar sight around south Liverpool and attracts crowds of admirers wherever it goes.

The car is a re-creation of John Lennon's psychedelic Rolls-Royce and is used for VIP tours of The Beatles' most famous Liverpool landmarks, in addition to being hired out as a wedding car.

The Rolls Royce is owned by Ian Doyle, from Aintree , who has been a Liverpool taxi driver since 1990 and who first began doing bespoke Beatles tours about 10 years ago.

The multi-coloured vintage Rolls is now a familiar sight around south Liverpool, such as here at Penny Lane. Photo by James Maloney

He launched Mad Day Out taxi tours in 2017 after covering his black Liverpool hackney cab in a psychedelic vinyl wrap, as a homage to Lennon's famous 1960s vehicle.

But last year he managed to add a second vehicle after tracking down a vintage 1968 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow from a contact in London, for only £9,000.

The Rolls owned by taxi driver Ian Doyle is fully licensed for Beatles tours. Photo by James Maloney

It was painstakingly stripped, primed and painted with scrolls and flowers to make it look as close to the genuine article as possible. The all-day VIP tours were launched earlier this year after the car was approved as a licensed vehicle.

The two psychedelic vehicles operated by Mad Day Out Beatles tours side by side

Ian, 53, said: "The car has attracted an amazing reaction from Beatles fans and residents of the areas I visit as part of the tours.

"It is sometimes quite difficult to move on from locations due to the number of people gathering around the vehicle to take photographs and selfies.

The psychedelic Rolls has become an attraction in its own right as it ferries visitors around the city's Beatles landmarks, as seen here at Paul McCartney's childhood home in Allerton

"She is becoming something of a celebrity and it is great to see the smiles on people's faces as we drive around, with people hanging out of their cars to take pictures as we go past.

"My guests have said they feel like royalty because of the amount of attention the Rolls attracts."

The VIP tours operated by Ian Doyle have proved a big hit since they were launched earlier this year. Photo by James Maloney

Ian's original vinyl-wrapped black cab has even won the ultimate seal of approval - from a former Beatle himself.

He said: "Last year I was lucky enough to come across Paul McCartney on Penny Lane as he was filming Carpool Karaoke and to my amazement Paul smiled and gave me his customary thumbs up, saying that the cab was ‘great and a real bonus’.

"I'm a passionate Beatles fan and have built up an extensive collection of memorabilia, including replicas of all the guitars owned by them."

Original Rolls had a record player and a fridge

The customised Rolls-Royce Phantom V was just one of a collection of vehicles belonging to John Lennon.

He purchased it for £6,600 in December 1964 and then started putting in a series of extra features, such as a record player, an eight-track tape player, a radio phone and a fridge in the back.

The chauffeur of The Beatles singer John Lennon standing beside Lennon's Rolls Royce with its decorative detailing
The chauffeur of The Beatles singer John Lennon standing beside Lennon's Rolls Royce with its decorative detailing

The brightly-coloured psychedelic paint job was added to the car prior to the release of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.

The original vehicle sold for £1,748,462 in 1985, making it the most expensive item of Beatles memorabilia at the time. It is now housed in the Royal British Columbia museum in Canada.