John Williams is a successful auto locksmith – but has faced a few emergencies along the way
WHEN John Williams left the army after 25 years he found himself sat in a pub with just £7.40 to his name.
John, 54, had just borrowed money from his parents to buy a second-hand transit van and a box of tools and had a rough plan to find work as a locksmith around Ynysybwl.
“I met up with a friend I used to work with in the army in a Wetherspoons in Pontypridd,” he said.
“I sat down with him, bought four drinks, put them on the table, and that’s all I had the money for. My friend asked what my Plan B is? There was no Plan B. It either worked out or that was it.”
That was in 2012. Today, John runs his own emergency locksmith business – Open Door Auto – and earns more than £85,000 per year.
Merthyr-born John specialises in automotive locks, helping people around South Wales back into their cars, leaning on his experience with the Royal Logistics Corps and the Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
You might have even seen him driving around Cardiff in his very distinctive van – a converted ambulance – but the story of how he came to own the vehicle is not a happy one.
Three years ago, Williams was driving past the big Tesco in Llantrisant when he was involved in an accident and the Ford Transit van he had recently bought was written off.
The accident left him with whiplash and needing physiotherapy but John’s biggest worry was how he would support himself without his van for work.
“I saw a second-hand ambulance advertised on Facebook from a seller in Cowbridge. I bought it for £8,400 to keep me going,” he said.
With the help of another locksmith – Jock the Lock – he converted it to suit his needs.
“I took the stretcher and seats out,” he said.
“I then converted the blue lights to orange and changed the ambulance’s green markings to show it’s used for recovery. I only put the lights on when parked up to alert others, which is legal.
“Sometimes I sit inside and have my lunch break. There is a TV with an ariel fitted on the roof for work but I also have Netflix.
“Paramedics normally wave at me while I drive along the motorway. When I turn up to jobs, I’m often told, “Don’t worry, we don’t have to go into the hospital.”
His little helpers ‘Brandy and Coke’
An occupational hazard for John is the fact that he needs to keep his evan’s engine running to power some of his equipment.
To make sure thieves can’t simply drive off in his van he employs two assistants.
“That’s why I’ve got my two dogs, Brandy and Coke, on the front seat for security,” he chuckled.
“If they kick off, you ain’t going jump in with them, but they’ll probably lick you to death before they bite you to death.
“The dogs were abused by their previous owner. It took about a month to get them going again.
“When I was In the army, we always drank a brandy called Asbach. Its a white brandy, and they are white dogs, so I thought the names worked.”
While we were speaking, Williams received a call from a person broken down in Barry.
“The calls come in every 30 minutes,” Williams’s says.
“I’m pretty good now. I’m earning more than £85,000 per year. I work all over the Cardiff postcode.
“Every job is easy if you know what you are doing. You just have to work hard.
“But to be honest, I’m doing this to help people. I’ve got other locksmiths calling me up for help too. The job has given me a good life.”
