Nostalgia for the past has driven one vintage vehicle enthusiast to amass a breathtaking array of toy planes, trains and automobiles.

John Fletcher, of Brynglas, Gilwern shows no signs of losing his passion for playthings.

Over the last three decades the grandfather-of-six has collected vintage tinplate toys, steam models and 1950s-1960s Dinky and Corgi toys and he has 28 pedal, mainly tinplate cars from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Mr Fletcher's pedal car collecting started with an accident when his wife Mavis, aged 64, bought a 1930s model by well-known toy makers Triang for £20 when she meant to bid on another lot at an auction 28 years ago.

His varied collection includes the prestigious c.1934 Rolls Royce model made by the Lines brothers, who later became Triang. The gleaming maroon and black model, complete with Rolls Royce mascot, would have been a luxury toy for a rich child.

Apparently only eight were made with the mascot and other special fittings and a similar one, without these features, sold at Sotherby's in 1988 for £8,800.

Mr Fletcher, 67, of Brynglas, Gilwern also has two Austin J40 pedal cars made in 1949 and 1951 respectively at an Ystrad Mynach factory by invalid miners. These fetch between £600 and £2,000 depending on condition.

He has picked up pedal cars from steam rallies and auctions and has even come across them in the attic of a house he was working on as a builder. When he gets a vintage toy he said he is 'over the moon', adding: "even if I pay too much that doesn't even come into it for me. If I want it, I'll have it."

The enthusiast, who also owns full-sized vintage vehicles, admitted: "I've said I'm not going to buy any more but when a steam model comes up that I haven't got, I just can't leave it alone. I realise at 67 your life's gone and it won't be long before it's time to off load it but it would only go to somebody who was going to be collecting it again."

He has many tinplate toys made from the 1920s to the 1970s by such leading manufacturers as Triang, Schuco, Bing and Marklin. Among his steam models is a hot air engine made by the German manufacturer Bing in 1913 valued at £500.

Mr Fletcher, who co-organised this year's Toy and Train Collectors Fair at Abergavenny with Monmouthshire county council, shows his toys and models at steam rallies and lends them to local museums.