It's very sad to see it go. It's been a mascot for the whole of the Morse series

Morse creator Colin Dexter

The 25-year-old was handed the keys by Colin Dexter, the creator of Morse, who was played on TV by actor John Thaw.

He immediately said he would be giving the keys to his girlfriend, after breaking a wrist playing rugby.

But Mr Went said he was looking forward to driving the distinctive car once his injury was healed.

"I'm pretty stunned really. It's a great car and it wasn't what I expected," he said.

"I've watched all the Morse videos and programmes and read all the books. I can just imagine the comments when I'm in it."

Mr Went, who currently owns a bike, added: "It deserves a bit of driving rather than selling it on."

The 2.4 litre four-door saloon model was first introduced in October 1959 and retailed at �1,534.

'Not good driver'

Before handing over the keys at Magdalen College, Colin Dexter said he had never driven it.

He added: "John Thaw said it was a real beggar - I think he said 'beggar' - to drive.

"I'm not a very good driver so I'm not too worried about that but of course, it's very sad to see it go. It's been a mascot for the whole of the Morse series."

Morse's model has a twin overhead cam, six-cylinder engine and should be capable of accelerating from 0-60mph in 17.3 seconds up to a maximum speed of 96.3mph.

A total of 25,070 models of the type were made and the car was once used as a police vehicle in the 1960s.