THEY are the vehicles of choice for everyone from trippy hippies to Scooby-Doo, to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

The classic Volkswagen camper van has always been a cult favourite, and now York entrepreneur Keith Turner has just sold a custom made model to a collector for nearly £30,000.

The 35-year-old, from Acomb, took nearly seven months to restore the 23-window "Samba" model, which was originally made in 1962. It is exactly the same type of camper van in which Jamie Oliver is currently touring Italy with his family.

Keith turned his passion for the iconic vehicle into a living when he set up VW Relics, at Elvington, and now claims he is one of the biggest importer of the vans in the country.

He imports the vintage vehicles from as far afield as Sweden, Portugal and the United States, restores them to their former glory and then sells them to enthusiasts all over the UK.

"I became fascinated with doing up camper vans when I swapped my Volkswagen Beetle for one a few years ago," Keith said.

"There is just nothing that looks like them anywhere on the road. They are classic. The vans have an enormous following across the world and I've got to the point where I just can't take any more work on.

"People like Jamie Oliver have made them trendy again. It's my dream job - I love going into work."

Keith, who regularly attends camper van conventions across the country, also now imports and restores Porsche tractors and Lambretta scooters to sell on to collectors.

"I don't think the vans will ever die out," he said.

"They are a classic shape."

Keith said many of his customers were old hippies who requested flowers, Bob Marley and scenes from a mardi gras to be sprayed on the side of their vans.

Updated: 10:44 Tuesday, April 19, 2005