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Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. The sound of sleigh bells could put even Ebeneezer Scrooge in the Christmas spirit - but the only bells some MOT testers heard this year were alarm bells!

Submitted by MOT testers themselves, these images shows the dangerous conditions the vehicles were in when being brought in for their annual review.

In a series of posts on the DVSA's Matters Of Testing blog - which provides official advice and information for MOT testers and the MOT industry - they have showcased some of the worst offenders.

From dodgy foot pedals to five cute chicks nestled in a car’s suspension, this is the round up of some of the horrors encountered by MOT testers in the run-up to Christmas, as told by the DVSA:

Deck the halls, not the foot pedal

When it comes to Christmas, you’ll want to add some finishing touches to really make the days special.

David’s latest customer thought nothing of covering his foot pedals with an offcut of decking, painted nicely to match the carpet and mat, and fastened neatly with tie wraps.

When he asked if the original brake pedal was damaged, the customer replied ‘No my foot keeps missing the pedal’. Epic fail without even having to test the car!

Got any nuts?

Someone’s been squirrelling their nuts away judging by the suspension on this vehicle taken to Kevin’s MOT testing station.

He found one nut was missing and another only finger tight. The ball joint holding the hub and wheel assembly could have detached due to the loose and missing bolts.

If that had happened while it was being driven, the driver could have lost control of the vehicle. This could have caused a serious accident if the MOT tester hadn’t caught it.

Well mashed

Roast potatoes go well with a Christmas meal, but these fuel filler and breather pipes were almost mashed by the rear coil spring in this suspension calamity.

The customer of this 2003 Renault Clio had no idea, saying it "drove fine" and had been doing so for some time. If the issue hadn’t been pointed out, the car could have had a dangerous fuel leak.

A right turkey

We know it’s a tradition to break a wishbone for good luck, but this owner didn’t get what they wanted when they took their Proton into Simon’s garage. The owner mentioned 'the steering pulls a bit' but he wasn’t going to keep it long anyway.

Under the car, the tester could see a broken wishbone so the wheel and hub were floating about - no wonder the steering didn’t work properly.

It’s a good job that Simon’s garage spotted this as the driver could have lost steering and the car could have crashed, injuring both himself and passengers.

The really scary thing - this was a taxi!

5 calling birds?

The fourth day of Christmas brings us four calling birds, but this MOT tester found five cute chicks nestled in this car’s suspension. Good job he raised a call to rescue them!

Other MOT stories: