A MELBOURNE man forced to watch his prized EH Holden ute burn at Serpentine has been overwhelmed by the generosity of locals.
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Ian McFarlane was driving to pick up his brother in Lalbert on Monday when he decided to stop for a break in Serpentine and recharge his iPhone.
''Something went wrong and within minutes my ute went up in flames,’’ he said.
Mr McFarlane said the help from ‘locals’ after the fire was 'unbelievable' and he couldn’t thank everyone enough.
''The local shire people and CFA all did what they could,’’ he said.
''Paula from the shire office bought me out a cup of tea.''
Mr McFarlane said the most remarkable help came from Russell Mountjoy, his wife Judy and son Alex.
''Russell, with his wife Judy, drove me to Bendigo with all my stuff out of the burnt ute and even lent me their car and phone to organise to get back to Melbourne,'' he said.
''Richard from the RACV was also there to help.
''They are the salt of the earth country people and I can't thank them enough for their kindness.
''I wish all city Australians know how generous country people are.’’
Mr McFarlane purchased the restored EH Holden last year.
''My interest in EH Holdens came about in 1964 when my father bought a new EH Premium but unfortunately died a few months later. This meant I had the EH to drive at 18 years old,'' he said.
''I am now retired so last year bought a fully-restored EH ute.
‘’It was a beautifully finished ute and I hope it can be fixed as it was not the ute's fault but the charging of an iPhone. The scary thing is that when an iPhone blows up it's just a matter of seconds.''
Serpentine resident Richard Evans is transporting the damaged EH Holden back to Melbourne for Mr McFarlane.
‘’I am a little sad but it is only a car and there were a lot of tragic things happening at the same time, like Nepal,’’ he said.