Funeral director Brian Butterfield was amazed to discover a vintage horse drawn hearse he bought earlier this year was the very same one which had been used by the family business for more than 80 years before it was sold in 1970.

And the coincidence was made even more unlikely as the 1880s carriage had only recently been shipped into the country from Australia.

Brian told theTimes how he discovered the carriage at a carriage hire firm in Pickering, North Yorkshire.

"In May a family needed a horse drawn carriage and we arranged to get one from the hire firm Beckhouse. They have what is probably the largest hearse collection in the country. They told us they had transported some of them from a big collector in Australia.

"This rang bells for me, as back in 1971 our own horse drawn hearse had been sold by the older members of the family to a Mr Albert Jackson, Motor Dealer of Conisbrough and Sheffield, who within a few months of his purchase informed us as a matter of interest that our hearse had been exported to a private collector in Australia.

"Following conversations with Ian Smith owner of Beckhouse Carriages, a number of design features indicated there was more than a strong possibility that one of the two hearses he had recovered from Australia could be ours.

"The hearse is Victorian, built by John Marston Carriage builders of Birmingham, it is a City Hearse (the largest model) with its original curved etched glass sides which compare to photographs taken during its working days at Butterfield's, when ready for sale in 1971, and when returned from Australia. Along with the expert knowledge of Mr Ian Smith this confirms its authenticity.

"Mr Smith kindly agreed to allow us to purchase it in July. Some restoration work has taken place to bring the vehicle up to working standard and in the process evidence of the Butterfield ownership was found. Following its return it will be available for use by families on funerals should they wish to use it."

The hearse was built around 1880 and was bought in 1897 by Charles Thompson Butterfield from a firm of Funeral Directors in Manchester and used on a daily basis until approximately 1939 when it was mothballed until sold on in1971. It was transported to Australia in 1972 by a Sheffield motor dealer, where it stayed in the collection of Mr Reg Ryan of Junee, New South Wales, until purchased by Beckhouse Carriages in April 1999.