After 4,218 km Across India in an Auto-Rickshaw, British Couple Ships 'Timmy' Home to Britain

Some travellers buy souvenirs abroad, others capture moments on camera. But what a British couple did on their trip to India was entirely different. Riding an Indian auto-rickshaw, they covered 4,218 kilometres.

The couple are Lily and Callum, and their unusual travel story is now drawing attention online.

They named the auto-rickshaw they bought in India 'Timmy the Tin Can'. The red-and-black three-wheeler has cartoon-like eyes and a smiling face painted on its front.

The vehicle is registered in Chennai, with the number TN 03 AA 4342.

When their six-month trip to India ended, they could not bring themselves to leave the rickshaw behind. So they arranged to load it into a large cargo container and ship it to Britain. The whole process took six months, they said.

After six months of waiting and various complications, the rickshaw finally reached Britain.

When Timmy arrived at a British port, the couple could not contain their joy. In a social media post they said that after driving the rickshaw 4,218 kilometres in India, they simply could not imagine leaving it behind. After a long six-month wait, their beloved vehicle was back with them.

But the story still has one problem at the end. Although Timmy has reached Britain, they cannot yet take it home or drive it on the roads there. Because of British road transport and customs rules, the necessary paperwork and legal process must be completed first.

Lily and Callum probably never imagined that an auto-rickshaw bought on a trip to India would become a companion in a new life abroad. Their experience is now a truly unusual story for travel lovers.