The 1902 Ransomes is owned by Somerset-based landscape gardener and self-confessed lawn mower fanatic Andrew Hall... who has another 1,499 mowers in his collection. Andrew has lovingly restored the Ransomes to its former glory and now takes ownership of a brand new Honda HRX476 QX – a 19" rear roller machine with an easy starting, self-propelled 160cc 4-stroke engine, worth £940.00 – meaning he can now give his Grass Master a well-earned rest.

"The Ransomes is an awesome bit of kit," says Andrew. "A bit unwieldy though – it weighs 1.5 tonnes and is the size of a small shed so I don't use it every day, that's for sure!

Of the 22 Honda mowers that entered the competition, the average length of service was found to be a very healthy 21.63 years – not an insignificant figure bearing in mind Honda has only been making mowers for just 30 years.

The competition also unearthed a raft of other mowers ranging from the positively youthful (3 years old) to one with a staggering 85 years service under its belt. Of the 20 runner up machines – whose owners each received a £50 voucher off the purchase of a new Honda lawn mower – there were two in their 80s, one aged 72, one aged 60, two in their 50s, three in their 40s, five in their 30s and six in their 20s – amassing a whopping 476 years of faultless service between them.

"I've got a Honda mower that's 30 years old", continues Andrew. "The build quality and reliability of Honda equipment is fantastic and I love using them personally and professionally. My prize mower will be added to my business equipment – the rear roller will come in handy for getting perfect stripes."

Martin Moll, Head of Marketing, Honda Power Equipment said: "We were genuinely staggered by the amount of old mowers out there that are still going strong and making the UK's lawns gorgeous. We're also really pleased to find out from the entrants that have Honda mowers, that our machines are so well loved and used."