The TLT25D Teletruk that is operating in the North East of England.

JCB's search for the oldest working Teletruk in the UK has unearthed another vintage machine.

Last month, JCB discovered the 11th JCB Teletruk to roll off the production line in 1997. The TLT25D is working daily at Rooneys Scrap Metal of Gateshead, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Now the company has found a TLT25D Teletruk that is operating in the North East and could have clocked the most hours of any model ever produced.

This Teletruk was the 18th model to be made by JCB. Owned by Hubbway Hire of Cramlington, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, it has notched up 10,000 hours of work.

Phil Hickey, the workshop manager of Hubbway Hire, contacted JCB after noticing that the truck's hour meter had automatically re-set to zero, having gone round the clock earlier this year. On the older machines, the hour meter is re-set on reaching 9,999 hours.

"The JCB Teletruk is a much-loved machine in our hire yard. It's been working in our business for as long as I have and never lets us down. It is 17 years old, yet still works hard for a living. It's the first machine that is started up every day at 6.30am and the last one to be put away in the evening after 7pm," Hickey says.

The Teletruk was sold by Scot JCB and was previously owned by another local plant hire company. Hubbway bought it after hearing good reviews from peers in the industry.

"When we first received the machine, the performance was sluggish, which didn't seem right. The issue was efficiently diagnosed by the product support team in the Teletruk division at JCB and rectified by the replacement of a wheel bearing in the drive motor.

"Since we had it repaired, it drives like a new machine and is the general workhorse of our business, keeping our yard organised," Hickey explains.

The forklift is used to manoeuvre large pieces of plant and equipment like lighting towers and for loading non-mechanical equipment onto trucks. It is also used for clean-ups with the scraper attachment that fits to the front end.

The JCB Teletruk, a forklift with a telescopic hook instead of a vertical mast, was invented by JCB in 1997.