Car fanatic Natalie Elliott was so fed up of her real surname she changed it - to Subaru-Impreza. And she can't even drive.

Natalie, 22, paid £41.13 to solicitors to officially have her surname changed by deed poll, which now adorns everything from her chequebooks to bank cards.

When she split from her husband of two years, Natalie decided not to revert back to her maiden name, Luffman, which was the focus of merciless jokes when she was at school.

Instead, mother-of-one Natalie, of St Crispian's Court, Seaford, wanted something a bit racy so plumped for her favourite £13,000 sports car.

She said: "I got called all sorts of names at school, like bum fluff. I decided there was no way I was going to call myself Luffman again, not after all that abuse.

"I wanted something different, something that would stand out from all the other names. My friends and I were talking one day and I said I wouldn't mind being called Subaru Impreza."

Within two days, official confirmation of her name change arrived by post from her Brighton-based solicitors to the disbelief of her family.

She said: "My family think I'm totally mad. They refused to believe me at first until I showed them all my bank cards and chequebook. Now they've just come to accept it."

Her father, Cedric Luffman, 63, said: "I think it's a bit strange but she's an adult now and can do what she likes. I must admit she is an attention seeker but I didn't think she would go this far."

One problem is that Natalie, a former pupil at Lewes Priory, cannot yet drive, although she plans a fast-track course within the next month.

However, we arranged for a gleaming blue 145mph Subaru Impreza to be ferried down to her home from Gatwick Subaru yesterday.

She said: "It was beautiful. I might not be able to afford one for a few years but I definitely intend to get one in the future."