A SCHOOLGIRL tracked down her late dad’s beloved car so she could go to prom in it.

Macey Shaw wanted her dad to be by her side in some way on the big day after tragically losing him to a heart problem two years ago

Dave Shaw, 51, was a petrolhead and loved his blue Ford Mustang.

He bought it brand new in 2017 but it was sold on after his death.

Macey, 15, knew for a long time that’s how she wanted to arrive at her prom and made it her mission at the start of the year to find the car.

She tracked the sporty number down on Facebook and its lovely new owner who agreed to chauffeur her to prom.

The teen, of Mansfield, Notts said: “It felt like my dad was there with me and a part of my prom.

“Which was lovely because obviously we didn’t get to do that.

“With his car it felt like I had a part of my dad there.

“I feel like he would have been proud - it would have been really emotional for him.

“We used to go on really long drives and I remember going to really nice places with him.

“I remember the conversations we used to have - it was so nice.”

Dave passed away from a heart problem but due to it being during the pandemic, doctors couldn’t give an exact diagnosis.

His car was later sold on to Alastair Carter, 58, a car garage owner from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.

Macey was chuffed when she was acquainted with him through the Mustang Owners Club Facebook group.

Within 45 minutes of her post being up in the group, somebody had already tagged Alastair in the comments.

She beamed: “Alastair was such a gentleman and so nice.

“When I first met him I was overwhelmed with the fact he was so kind and was taking me to prom.

“I’ve always wanted to go to prom in my dad’s Mustang because it is such a nice car.

“I had no idea where to start because I had no idea where it had been sold to or who had bought it.”

Macey felt like she had known Alastair for years when he first arrived at her home to escort her to prom.

The pair shared an emotional hug after the car fanatic travelled over 50 miles to make the teen’s prom dream come true.

He said: “I felt I would do everything I could to help Macey.

“I’ve had so much joy from the car.

“It seemed like the right thing to do to help someone who had lost their dad and give her a bit of pleasure and happiness.”

Macey likes to think she will become a car girl in her dad’s honour when she can start driving in just over a year’s time.

Alastair has told her she can see the car whenever she wants and the pair plan to stay in touch thanks to their special car bond.