'Huntley replaced car tyres after girls disappeared'

Ian Huntley replaced the tyres on his car the day after Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman disappeared despite the fact they were in “surprisingly good condition”, the Old Bailey heard today.

On August 5, 2002, Huntley, who denies murder, took his red Ford Fiesta to Ely Tyre Service in Cambridgeshire, where it was fitted with four new tyres.

One of the mechanics noted that the tyres that were being replaced were in “a surprisingly good condition”, with a tread depth of 4-6mm and offered them to a colleague.

Richard Latham QC, prosecuting, told the jury: “The registration number that was recorded on the sales invoice at the request of Ian Huntley was not the registration number that appeared on the car.”

His car, with its registration number J112 YWR, was initially bought in 1990 or 1991 and was a red five-door model, a 1.4 litre engine and factory fitted carpets in the cabin and boot.

It was sold in August 2000 and sold again in July 2001.

The man who bought it in 2001 remarked on its “apparently immaculate condition” but later discovered a mechanical fault and sold it a month later, placing an advert in a newspaper in Scunthorpe.

He sold it to a man who gave the name Ian Nixon. The jury has heard that Huntley sometimes used his mother’s maiden name of Nixon.

On July 25, 2001 Huntley took the Fiesta to a garage in Scunthorpe and they noted that the tyres had a tread depth of 1-3mm, the court heard.

On August 5 that year he took the car to another garage in Scunthorpe where it was fitted with four Centaur T13 tyres.

The mileage was recorded as 38,700 miles and the jury heard that new Centaur tyres have a minimum tread depth of 7mm.

On July 10, 2002 Huntley took the Fiesta to a Ford garage in Ely, Cambridgeshire, for a service and MOT.

The tread depth was noted as 5mm on the front tyres and 6mm on the rear tyres.

Mr Latham said: “Under normal conditions these would be expected to be legal for at least another 10,000 miles.”

It was on August 5, 2002, the day after the girls went missing, that Huntley took the Fiesta to Ely Tyre Service and the tyres were replaced.

On Friday, August 16 the Fiesta was seized by the police from outside 5 College Close and taken for a detailed forensic examination.

A pair of scissors, a red petrol can and a piece of household carpet were found in the boot of the car and those items were seized, said Mr Latham.

The factory-fitted boot carpet was not present.

A statement was read to the jury from tyre fitter Wayne Norman, of Ely Tyre Services, who said he remembered the Fiesta because of the “condition of the tyres already on the vehicle”.

The tyres already on the vehicle had 4mm tread on the front and about 6mm on the rear, and those rear tyres were “almost brand new”.

It was unusual for people to change tyres in that condition: “It would normally be people with expensive cars and lots of money.”