Esso petrol station (Source: Internet)

Two 1960's British petrol stations were awarded Grade II protected status by English Heritage, the organisation that protects and oversees historic buildings in England.

English Heritage awarded the accolades to a UFO-style winged station on the A1 at Markham Moor in Nottinghamshire and a second station with six "parasols" over the pumps in Birstall, Leicestershire - both in central England.

John Minnis from English Heritage said: "Back in the beginning of the sixties, motoring was still exciting, but somehow we began to fall out of love with the car."

Minnis explained that the concave concrete roof of the Markham Moor building, which is now used a roadside restaurant, had used cutting-edge technology of the day.

The Esso station on the A6 in Birstall was designed by US architect Eliot Noyes in the 1960s. According to English Heritage architectural historian, John Minnis, “As far as we know, this filling station is the last of its kind left in the country.

Despite the award, Minnis stressed that the stations could still be developed. "It's saying that these buildings are special and that, in any future plans, you have to take into consideration their architectural interest," he said./.