A GRANDMOTHER'S motor racing days have hit the pits.

Jean Neville just missed out on making it to the final 24 of a Formula Women competition - an X-factor style racing contest.

And the cost of participating in the sport has meant Jean will be going back to her more leisurely pursuits.

As a member of Bury Athenaeum Bridge Club and Bury Photographic Society, the 68-year-old now plans to focus her interests on the cameras lens.

"Driving racing cars has been a fantastic experience. I wouldn't have missed it for anything. But now I'm not in the competition, I can't afford to carry on. You really need to have sponsorship to keep going," said Jean, who has three children and two grandchildren.

Out of 4,000 contestants, oldest participant Jean, who has undergone two hip replacements, made it through to the last 100.

She then raced through to the final 50 before being eliminated on the second day of a boot camp.

However Jean, a retired supply teacher from Rossendale, was one of four drivers followed by Channel 4 television for a documentary about the competition, which is due to be screened early next year.