PLENTY of Weston families own outsized 4x4s these days, but only one owns a Hum-Vee. Steve Turvey became the town's first Hummer owner after buying one as a temporary promotional stunt for his car import business. Temporary became permanent after his wife

PLENTY of Weston families own outsized 4x4s these days, but only one owns a Hum-Vee.Steve Turvey became the town's first Hummer owner after buying one as a temporary promotional stunt for his car import business.Temporary became permanent after his wife and three children fell in love with the £60,000 six-litre monster and told 44-year-old Steve it had to stay.The Turveys came to terms with paying out £110 to refuel the 32-gallon American truck and fell for its hi-tech gadgetry and heavy duty road presence.Though there are some places the vehicle is just too big to go down, such as Meadow Street, there are good sides to having such a bulky run-around.As you would expect with a modified military vehicle, parking regulations are less of a concern for the Turveys than your average Weston motorist.After one inspector failed to get a clamp round the 3ft wheels he called for back-up in the form of a robust towing truck.But the 16x7x7ft 2.5-tonne Hummer proved too much for the pick-up, which was unable to lift the giant. The crew settled for leaving a penalty notice on its windscreen.Steve, who has taken part in rallies with some of the world's biggest motorsport stars and is a former Team Subaru navigator, said: "It's a huge vehicle and a completely different driving experience from other 4x4s."It doesn't get a good reception in England. People think of it as a gas guzzling Chelsea tractor. "When you are driving, people coming the other way are saying 'what the hell is that?'"You get people steering clear of you, not so much because it's wide but because it's so tall."Most weekends it's on hire for weddings, and that kind of thing, but the rest of the week it's a family car."Other parents are shocked to see it on the school run. It is quite popular though, everyone thinks it's a bit of a laugh."I get a lot of disappointed looks from other 4x4 drivers because a lot of them are sat there thinking they are in the biggest vehicle on the road."The kids love it. I suggested we would sell it the other day and they went mad."Steve can import Hum-Vees for other aspiring drivers through his business Import Solutions. For more details call 01934 417222.