A York garage boss has recruited a heavy-weight ally to stand guard over his business as he gears up for a price war at the pumps.

Graham Kennedy, who runs Inner Space Service Stations, already boasts an eye-catching display of science fiction icons from the world of Doctor Who and Star Wars.

So when he wanted to trump his collection he had to go to the Outer Limits – of Cambodia.

He was looking for something completely different – and a pal returning from a trip to the Far East told him about a Transformers sculpture that was up for grabs.

Graham refuses to say how much changed hands to secure the deal – but it cost him £2,000 to have the junk metal statue of Bumble Bee shipped from “a secret location outside Cambodia”.

Made out of car parts, it now has pride of place on the Hull Road service station forecourt where it is already wowing customers.

MD Mr Kennedy said: “It is the only one in the UK. It is a massive amount of work. You could not get it done in this country.

“All I can say is there must be a lot of missing car parts in Cambodia. He is going to be my secret weapon in my price war with the supermarkets.”

At 9ft tall, Bumble Bee is already measuring up to be one of the stars of Mr Kennedy’s forecourt.

But he may need reinforcements if competition with the supermarkets hots up.

He is already on the lookout for another Transformers sculpture and has his eye on an Optimus Prime, leader of the army of shape-shifting robots.