He particularly admired the Aston Martin DB5 which Bond drove in the 1964 film Goldfinger. “I really liked the sleek look of the car and its amazing shape,” he says.

Fast forward to the 21st century and Dino became the proud owner of one of these much-coveted motors.

“I had always liked the car and thought I would take the plunge and buy one,” he says.

Taking it for a spin, however, is not straightforward. “It’s an old car and like all old cars it requires quite a lot of thought and knowledge to drive and keep going. Even before you set off you need to make sure the oil is warm. It is quite hard to drive - everything rattles. At 30mph you think you are driving at 50. There is no sound-proofing , you can hear everything as you drive along.

“But that is part of the fun of driving a classic car. It is not easy at all but it is far outweighed by the pleasure you get.”

It is the Aston Martin DB5 which is the mainstay of Dino’s motoring life and which led to him acquiring further classics including further Aston Martins and Jaguars.

It also led to him establishing a successful business. Having owned a series of classic cars over the years, Dino was used to the high costs of looking after his prestigious motors.

“I was fed up with paying such a lot of money to garages to look after my cars,” he says. “I was beginning to think ‘I could do this’.”

“At the time I had moved my cars to a business unit in Pool-in-Wharfedale where I had one man looking after them, then one day a passer-by came in and asked ‘Can you do mine?”

That serendipitous moment, nine years ago, led to him building a business that has grown to become one of the largest classic car restoration firms in the north of England. “It’s a business built purely on luck, excellent workmanship and word-of-mouth,” he says.

Classic Car Lab restores vehicles from across the UK and abroad. After eight years the firm outgrew its base and last year moved to a larger new development in Otley where it continues to thrive.

Dino grew up in Shipley, attending Woodhouse Grove School before becoming a buyer for Greenwood’s chain of menswear stores. Aged just 26, he went on to set up his own clothes manufacturing firm.

“That period in my life was pivotal - when I began to earn a bit more, I started to look at fancy cars,” he says.

He later bought a 1997 bright yellow Lotus Esprit V8 Turbo which he found difficult to drive. “It was very hard to change gear. I tend to like the way cars look but not particularly the way they drive.”

He temporarily withdrew from buying cars after a vehicle was stolen from his home. “It was a BMW Alpina 5 series . It was found in a garage and had been stripped down,” he says. “It put me off nice cars for quite a while.”

It was then that his fiancée Amanda stirred his interest in classics. “It was around 18 years ago. I did not know much about them but she really liked them and sparked my interest.”

Dino, 50, loves - who also runs a number of other businesses - loves Astons so much he invested in a model vintage DB5 pedal car made by Tri-ang, which famously made pedal cars from 1928 until 1976.

When it comes to fixing and restoring cars, he admits he is “absolutely useless” and would not be where he is today were it not for his “amazingly talented team.”

“It’s a team of six and there are other people who help with various aspects such as electrics. They are extremely talented – in this business you have to be quite an artist. It’s not straightforward if a car body needs reshaping and respraying.

“I could not do it without them, but I also believe in the things that I do. We all have a passion for classics.”

He has worked alongside his company director Alison Larkin for the past 30 years. “She’s my right-hand woman,” he says.

The team tackle cars from Minis to Lamborghinis. “Lamborghinis can sometimes be challenging - it is a very complicated build, with a sensitive engine. We even do modern-day super cars and that includes respraying them."

They sometimes find themselves working on unusual vehicles - at present they are restoring a Hindustan Ambassador, once common across India and known as the ‘king of Indian roads’.

“At one time most Indian taxis were Ambassadors. I had never seen one before,” says Dino.

As well as his current Aston Martins, he drives a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, which he loves. “The quality of the build is fantastic. It’s a great, reliable car and my dogs can fit into it.”

Dino sometimes lets his German short-haired pointers Jasper and Buster sit in the front seat of one of his classics. “They are tethered, of course. When I am out and about people come over to look at them as well as the car.”

Looking to the future, he is looking at converting classic car engines to electric. “We are getting enquiries about that, mostly from the south of England.”

He also has his sights set on converting Amanda’s classic car, a Jensen, to electric, but not until the charging infrastructure improves. “I would also like to covert a Series l Mini,” he adds.

“One thing we would like to develop is a sound system that produces the sound of an exhaust pipe to offer greater safety for pedestrians. Some drivers also feel more comfortable hearing it. You could switch it on or leave it off.”

Classic Car Lab’s workshop has been busy throughout the pandemic and is full at the moment.

One of the most wonderful moments is seeing owners’ reactions when they see their car restored. It is very rewarding. Every car has a story and I love all our clients.”

Dino enjoys driving around the Yorkshire countryside near his home, but when out with Amanda, he sits in the passenger seat. “She’s the driver - I like to be driven,” he laughs.

*classiccarlab.com