Lots of little boys dream of racing cars but few grow up to turn their dreams into reality. Gerry Wadman did.

Businessman Gerry has turned a lifelong fascination with the world of classic sports cars into a full-time occupation.

The Brighton-based dealer and collector spends his days looking out for old cars, buying and selling memorabilia, restoring them, renting them out to film and video makers or selling them to the rich and famous.

Gerry has driven some of the world's fastest, rarest and most elegant cars and his business has brought him into contact with some equally glamorous clients.

The legendary Stirling Moss drove his A35 Countryman at last year's Goodwood Revival Meeting and Gerry once bought a Mercedes sports car from Ringo Starr.

This time last year a Sixties Safari caravan belonging to Gerry was hired by pop star Robbie Williams' record company to feature in the video for his hit single Supreme.

Gerry said: "I took it in part exchange for a 1962 Ford Anglia, then I used it for the summer at the Auto Jumble at Beaulieu.

"It is a well-used but totally original Sixties caravan, but it just happened to fit in exactly with what they required.

"I sent an e mail to the production company quoting a price per day for a Sixties caravan and they gave me the job. It wasn't until I arrived at the studios I found out it was for Robbie Williams' Christmas video.

"Being on the set was interesting, very slow, very cold and not at all glamorous. It was supposed to be a one-day shoot but it took three days.

"On the first day Robbie Williams turned up late after being out the night before and then proceeded to fall asleep in my caravan for an hour while everyone stood around waiting.

"I was asked to supply another car for a 15-minute film Robbie Williams was making in the summer They wanted a 1970s Jensen Interceptor for a seven-day shoot in Marseilles and I had one - but it was the wrong colour. They wanted a blue one and I had a black one."

Gerry added: "I used to be a partner in a garage called Sporting Cars based at Cheapside, Brighton, where one day in the Eighties, totally unannounced, George Harrison popped in to inspect an Austin Healey Frog Eye Sprite we had.

"In 1997 we purchased a 1961 Mercedes 190 SL sports car from Ringo Starr, which we later sold to a UK customer who already had an almost new Mercedes but just had to have it, being a Beatles fan."

Gerry is also the proud owner of a racing suit which belonged to his boyhood hero, the legendary British driver Graham Hill.

He said: "Some of these people are so busy they don't have enough time to look for a car themselves and I am often retained as a consultant.

"Some of the requests are for 1960s racing accessories and memorabilia which I have in stock and can supply at almost a moment's notice.

"The stop watches, lap time boards and open-face helmets were supplied by my company for Robbie Williams's video for Supreme. "

At his workshop in Kemp Town, Brighton, Gerry is working on the restoration of several classic and vintage vehicles including a Flying Flea motorbike and a yellow Lotus Europa .

He recently restored a 1931 MG M Type, which he sold to a Japanese collector. It is thought to be the oldest MG in Japan.

Gerry decided to turn his hobby into a full-time business about two years ago after more than 25 years in the motor trade. He set up his company Sussex Sports Cars, which he runs from his workshop.

He said: "I locate and purchase cars for people at home and overseas. I also rent them out for use in films and videos.

"Now I am up and running I have created a lifestyle I could never have dreamed of two years ago. I am as contented as any man could be in his business."

To contact Gerry visit www.sussexsportscars.co.uk