In 2003, Steve Webb’s life changed forever while on a sabbatical in the Indian state of Goa.

After a successful career in IT recruitment, situated in the heart of London’s Piccadilly Circus, Steve stepped away from the daily grind to travel to South Africa, and then India.

While in India, the 62-year-old made a life-changing choice that would define the next two decades of his professional and personal life.

“I just went there for a holiday,” he said.

“I saw these tuk tuks darting around the roads and I became fascinated by them.

"I spent the rest of the holiday driving around in them and watching them, and when I finally got home, I told my boss I was going to leave and start my own business. To this day I have no regrets.”

Steve relocated from London to Southampton and opened up his dream business in 2004 – TukShop – selling, renting, and modifying tuk tuks.

The company was based in Holbury for 10 years before relocating to Eastleigh, where it’s been for the last decade.

Steve in Goa in 2003 (Image: Steve Webb)

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In that time, Steve has seen his traditional Indian taxis used as wedding vehicles, converted into mobile drinks stands for sporting events, and even seen them feature in Hollywood films – not to mention transporting Ant and Dec to the Britain’s Got Talent studios.

Steve was hired to provide tuk tuks for Alfonso Cuaron’s 2006 dystopian thriller, Children of Men, starring Clive Owen and Michael Caine, as well as Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, and later The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Ant and Dec on their way to the Britain's Got Talent studios (Image: Steve Webb)

The latter of which saw Steve drive Bollywood star, Tina Desai, to the film's red carpet premiere in Leicester Square.

He said: “It’s a small world, you don’t think about it really, it just sort of happens and then you move on to something else and then it’s all gone by in a flash.

“Suddenly my daughter is 15, I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and you wonder where all that time has gone.”

With no signs of slowing down, Steve is sure the tuk tuk will still be going strong in the years ahead.

He said: “You look at the roads nowadays and a lot of heavy vehicles are churning up the road.

“Perhaps the tuk tuk is the way forward? It’s small, it’s light, many of them are electric now, and you can get about quite safely and quickly.

“They’re well regarded across Asia and perhaps they’ll become more common for us in time.”