Is This Military Collection A 'Hobby Out Of Hand'?

It's described by its owner as a 'hobby which got out of hand' - but this is not your more standard stamp or coin collection.

Tim Issac's passion requires a little more room for that - he collects tanks, more than 70 of them!

The Cobbaton Combat Collection is a military museum and tourist attraction in North Devon, covering primarily World War Two exhibits, with additional artifacts from the Boer War, up to the First Gulf War.

The 'runaway hobby' was first opened to the public in 1981, and has continued to grow and grow ever since.

Tim said that at some point the collection 'had to be sold, or had to evolve into a museum':

"[My] dad started collecting things in the 1960s, bits of farm machinery, items he found in scrapyards, things from antique shops, and the collection grew, and it grew, and it grew.

"I've grown up with the family business and it's become my hobby, whereas dad grew up with a hobby and made it his business."

The collection is dedicated to the memory of every person who used an item on display at some point.

British, American, Canadian and Russian forces are all represented in the collection, including guns, artillery and bombs.

The museum also houses ration books, gas masks and uniforms.

Several of the vehicles are still operational, such as the Morris C9B, a Soviet T-34, the South African Hippo APC or the Ford F60 LAAT.

Some even regularly attend military rallies and films, for example Pink Floyd's 'The Wall', 'Fury' starring Brad Pitt and the latest 'Wonder Woman'.

Tim even lives on the same site as his collection, where he has three Romney buildings and a restoration workshop