WHEN Barnoldswick's Jean Leaver goes out on the town with granddaughter Sophie, it's the pram not the toddler that attracts all the attention.

Bought brand new in 1965 for £49 - the equivalent of almost £1,000 today - the pram's quality has stood the test of time with two generations of Jeans' family having used it over nearly 40 years.

"People are always stopping me on the town and saying what a beautiful pram it is," said Jean.

"It's a shame because they hardly notice poor Sophie, but they remember their own prams and it's a real talking point."

Most people assume the pram is a Silver Cross, but in fact it's an Osnath - the Rolls-Royce of the pram world.

The Queen herself apparently chose an Osnath for her own children.

It was a big expense at the time, remembers Jean, and a shock to her husband who wanted to scour the Exchange and Mart for a second-hand pram, but she put her foot down and has never regretted the purchase.

The Osnath has a coach-built wooden body, painted to a high gloss finish. It is suspended on leather straps attached to a steel-sprung chassis with bright chrome wheels.

The thick hood and cover are lined like an expensive cabriolet car and, apart from a little fading, are as good as the day they were bought.

Only the solid rubber tyres, now with virtually no tread, give a clue to the use the pram has seen.

All three of Jean's grandchildren, Christian, eight, Rebecca, four, and two-year-old Sophie, have used the pram, which is plenty big enough to accommodate two at a time.

"It's a lot easier to push than a modern pram as well," said Jean, who faces a steep hill up to her home at Town Head.

"It bounces along and nearly pushes itself."

Inside it is so comfortable that middle grandchild Rebecca used to ask to sleep in it, preferring it to her cot.

The only drawback is that it won't fold up and pop into the hatchback, although it has been on trips in the back of a van.

Now, with Sophie no longer a baby, the regal old Osnath is about to go into temporary retirement, at least until the next generation of Jean's family appears on the scene.

In the meantime it could find a new role as a star of stage and screen.

Jean is thinking of registering the pram with a props agency, so that it could be hired out for use in productions such as ITV's 1960s drama Heartbeat. Another idea is for photographers to use it as a prop for baby pictures.