LEARNING to drive in Basingstoke was a positive but long process, due to an extensive backlog of tests.

The moment I turned 17, I was ambitious to pass my driving test as it would be more practical to get to my college and part-time job by car, without having to depend on an often unreliable bus service.

I was very fortunate to know a driving instructor that had availability at the time of my asking, so it all fell into place for me.

I had one weekly driving lesson that lasted two hours around Basingstoke and the surrounding areas.

At the time of learning to drive, the Brighton Hill roundabout had just finished construction work and was met with lots of controversy. But, learning to drive with an instructor who knew exactly what lane I needed to be in made for an easy ride and I now feel comfortable going at it alone.

I live in Tadley, so I wasn’t used to all of the surroundings in Basingstoke.

My instructor, Steve Ladhams, was always very supportive and went above and beyond in helping me. He’d allow me to drive back to Tadley when the lesson was coming to a close which meant he had to drive back to Basingstoke out of his own time, which I was incredibly grateful for.

When I went to book my driving test in January, I was told to wake up and be ready on a Monday morning at 6am to click the first one that came up.

The best I could get at the time was July.

I was aware there was a backlog, but I didn’t expect that it would go back half a year. Despite this, I viewed the long wait as extra time to prepare, so I spent lots of time taking practice drives and going over manoeuvres.

When the test eventually arrived, it felt like fate. The hour before my driving test, my instructor, Steve, directed me around a test route in Oakley, which only happened to be the route I was taken on in my driving test.

When I was told that I had passed with no minor faults, I was shocked, and I don’t think it actually hit me until hours later the way my life had changed for the better.