Birmingham Traveller claims he crushed a 1927 Rolls Royce worth £1.4m for scrap

IT should have been the find of a lifetime. But Alexander Thompson, 56, still winces over the dusty motor he says he bought for a few pounds from a farmer and sold for scrap.

Because the Birmingham Traveller later discovered the ‘old banger’ was in fact a limited edition 1927 Rolls Royce – one of only 12 ever made and worth £1.4 million.

Yet the historic find was compressed to the size of a hamper before Alexander discovered the terrible truth.

“The car was something to do with the Queen,” shrugged Alexander, who has lived for eight years in a caravan on a parcel of land in Great Barr.

“No point dwelling on it – you can’t change what has happened.”

Yet Alexander, a man who boasts Big Brother champ Paddy Doherty and X Factor’s Shayne Ward among his many relatives, hopes to recoup a percentage of that lost revenue through his first book.

Gypsy And Travellers Tales is a collection of 25 short, humorous, if at times dark, stories dealing with Alexander’s life.

Response to the book – launched in December – has been encouraging and it is already available in WH Smith and Waterstones and on the shelves of some New York stores.

That’s no mean feat for a man who struggles with literacy. At times, Alexander would sit in McDonald’s and get youngsters to scrawl down his anecdotes before passing the creased, crayoned sheets to a ghost-writer.

Harry Houdini would struggle to untangle the elaborate knot that binds likeable Alexander’s family.

Wife Dolly Thompson, 52, is his cousin. Two of their nine grandchildren are called Dolly Thompson. Celebrity traveller Paddy Doherty, a bare-knuckle champ, is uncle to those grandchildren. X Factor winner Shayne Ward is a second cousin.

The bride in reality show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’s most lavish coupling is his daughter-in-law’s sister, Bridget McCann.

And THIRTY of Alexander’s family appeared in the smash series – many as bridesmaids.

Life for the travelling fraternity has got better, he admitted – thanks in some parts to Paddy Doherty, who became a Gypsy role model.

“For a Traveller to go into Big Brother and go on to win it is a wonderful thing,” said Alexander proudly.

Perhaps the novel will catapult Alexander to the same heights as his two relatives. But he insists fame is not the driving force. These are simply tales that needed – like the tarmac he has spent a lifetime manipulating – to be laid down.