The story of Sprite Caravans by caravan expert and renowned caravan historian, Andrew Jenkinson.

The Sprite caravan has become one of the best-known makes in caravanning history.

Its creator, Sam Alper OBE, influenced caravan design, manufacture, marketing, and aftersales, yet managed to keep prices affordable.

The story of Sprite is also about Sam Alper and his Newmarket workforce. Sam was a true entrepreneur, who had a gift for trying out new ideas; some worked well, others didn’t, but he believed in learning from his mistakes. Sam saw his Sprite company become a market leader in less than a decade, not just in the UK, but also abroad, where the Sprite caravan enjoyed sales success.

In a move which throws an unfortunate shade of negativity on this year’s fantastic National Caravan Council (NCC) Motorhome & Caravan Show, Discover Leisure has closed its stand amid current financial problems. An announcement was made regarding the withdrawal of share trading on the London Stock Exchange early this morning after a week which has seen 48% wiped from the value of the company.

The large UK retailer, with five dealerships across the UK, is no stranger to financial uncertainty having faced similar issues in 2009. This latest situation led to the following statement issued from the group’s York HQ: “The board now believes that it is increasingly unlikely that an acceptable solution to the funding issues that the group faces can be secured in the necessary timeframe.”

I understand that Discover had taken orders for caravans during the first three days of the show, but industry sources advised me that they were only taking deposits of £1 from customers.

It will be a sad thing if the NCC’s fantastic return to the show calendar is remembered for this incident rather than the impressive footfall and positive atmosphere that has been evident so far this week.

At the time of writing, Discover Leisure was not available for comment.

The new 2012 Sprite Lite 2 caravan model from the Swift Group.

For those attending the Motorhome and Caravan Show tihs week, you will no doubt have come across the new Sprite Lite 2012 model range from the Swift Group.

Does this new, cheaper and lighter Sprite offer value for the budget conscious caravan buyer looking for a new tourer with no frills, just the essential caravanning basics?

Why not read my Sprite Lite 2 caravan review.

I would be interested to read your comments.

In your opinion, does the new Sprite Lite caravan range deliver what it says on the tin?

Holtkamper's Kyte trailer tent has a futuristic swooping style.

Sorry to sound a bit Big Brother, but welcome to day four of my blogs from the UK’s largest exhibition of its kind, the Motorhome and Caravan Show – although the “household” here is Birmingham’s massive National Exhibition Centre (and I do get to go home every night).

So far, I’ve whisked through the new caravans, helped judge the best of the new motorhomes, and reported back on other key items of news.

This time, I thought I’d give you a bit of a round-up of the type of news I typically pick up at an event like this.