A roofer has been invited to be part of the reopening of Dreamland in Margate after his bumper collection of dodgems caught the eye of the theme park’s designer.

Peter Ward has acquired more than 40 of the vintage vehicles, and has added wheels and motors to some of them so they can be driven outside of the confines of a fairground ride.

The road-going part of the fleet will be travelling down to Margate next month after they were spotted by Wayne Hemingway, the designer working on Dreamland’s relaunch.

He became interested in the collection because most of them date back to the 1960s and 1970s, which fits in with the sense of nostalgia he is trying to capture.

Visitors will be able to have the experience of driving one of them around an inflatable track on July 18 and 19.

Mr Ward, 54, said he has also been contacted on Facebook by Danielle Reverchon, the daughter of the French manufacturer who designed many of his bumper cars, to say how pleasant it was to see the dodgems back in action.

He said: “It’s a privilege. It’s nice to be appreciated by the actual people that made the cars and she said what I’m doing takes her back.”

Mr Ward, of Salmon Crescent, Minster, also hopes to be part of something never seen before when one of his vehicles is used for the wedding of his friend, a huge bumper car fan, in Nottingham this August.

It is being converted to look like a new car so the newlyweds can get in it and drive off after saying their vows – with cans on bits of string trailing behind.

He is also working on converting another model into a road-legal 4x4.

Last year, Mr Ward appeared on Channel 4 programme Posh Pawn.