A cost of living crisis could be putting motorists at greater risk on Britain’s roads, according to the head of car retailer Halfords.

Drivers are buying old cars and facing rising repair bills as household incomes shrink.

Halfords thinks that the average car will be 9.5 year old by 2020 and might even reach 10.0 by 2030.

As the motorbike and bicycle retailer reports stronger than expected results for the past 20 weeks, it has been boosted by its expanding car repair services.

The retailer reported its second quarter results on Wednesday, saying that total revenue for the three months ended 19 August had grown by 9.2%.

It added that sales increased by 30 percent compared to the previous quarter, boosted by solid performances in its auto centres business.

Halfords has grown its business by acquiring the Axle Group, which owns the National tyreservicing brand.

Halfords' bosses said its sales had been "in line" with expectations and held firm their target of an underlying pre- tax profits of between £65 million and £75 million for the current financial year (April 1 - March 31).

It also highlighted good progress against its cost savings targets and efforts to manage price increases.

Graham Stapleton has announced that Halfords is cutting prices on thousands of items to keep them affordable during the coronavirus pandemic.

Our motor insurance business continues to perform well, but we're seeing an increase in customer demand for non-automotive products and services. We expect this trend to continue into 2019.

"We've seen an increase in the number of older vehicles entering our repair shops," he said. "And given the current economic situation, we expect the average vehicle lifespan to continue increasing."

“The problem presented by Brexit is really challenging for the Secretary of State for Transport”

"Vehicle Reliabilty has been improving in recent years but there’s no getting away from the facts that older vehicles are more likely to suffer from faults, costlier to maintain, and pollute."