A man who has had a Soviet tank parked on his Somerset property for 25 years has finally bid a fond farewell to the 30 ton piece of military hardware.

While most of us would be content with a garden gnome or a fish pond in our gardens, Haydn Davies, of Wells Reclamation has long enjoyed looking out of his window to see the T34 parked up outside.

And the businessman hasn't exactly been "Russian" to get rid of it, with the Second World War beast having been sat on his site since 1993.

But the bittersweet occasion finally arrived for Mr Davies, when he agreed to sell the tank to a buyer from Northamptonshire.

He said: “I woke up at 2am on the day of the sale. Not much disturbs me, so I wondered what was the matter. Then I realised what it was. I was suffering from grief.

“I really didn’t want her to go. I know it’s a ‘Big Boy’s Toy’ but like boats or old cars you do get attached to them. They become part of the family.

“She came to me after the breakup up of the Soviet Union having previously done her wartime stuff on the bitter cold Russian Front."

Mr Davies said the T34 had a crew of four, and one of them, the driver, was very often a woman.

The Russians made them in enormous numbers and they were renowned for their speed. The Germans had such respect for them, that they requisitioned captured ones.

Mr Davies reached the rank of Captain in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and has a particular interest in all things military.

He and his wife, Margaret, started Wells Reclamation, which specialises in selling ‘the unusual’, 35 years ago.

Mr Davies makes regular trips overseas to buy things including Cold War Russian jeeps from the Ukraine. But the tank held a special place in his heart.

He said: “My old warrior is gone now. I hope she will be happy in her new home and that they will look after her. She was made in 1943, and she’s feeling her age now."

Mr Davies may not have a tank-shaped hole in his life for too long though, as he says he thinking about getting a British Chieftain Tank to replace it.

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