Two wheel delight for youngsters

Pupils at Upper Beeding Primary School were visited by Andrew and Vanessa Attwood, from Southwick, on Monday.

The couple, members of the Veteran-Cycle Club (VCC), brought a selection of bicycles from their collection to show youngsters.

Andrew told the Herald: "This is the first time we have ever done this. A fellow club member has a child here and got talking to the teachers. That is how we came to be here."

Andrew and Vanessa used to run The Bike Store, in Brighton Road, Worthing, and have amassed a collection of more than 40 bicycles over the years.

Children were able see a boy's bike, from South Africa, dating back to 1946, and a 1939 Bates Grange Wood tandem.

Other bicycles Andrew and Vanessa spoke about and took questions from the children on included a Hetchins Vaude Mecum, from 1958, and a Paris Galibier racing bike, which had been restored after being found in a skip.

One of the rarer items on show was a 1905 Dursley Pedersen bicycle, which featured a hammock-like seat.

Vanessa said: "It was being restored for four years. I have known about them for donkey's years and, finally, I managed to get hold of one. It is quite rare.

"I do see a lot of them in the VCC '“ I even know somebody who put one out for the dustmen. Everybody's got to have a hobby."

Susan Quigley, key stage co-ordinator at the school, said the talk and display had been invaluable as part of the children's project.

"We have been doing a topic on transport called On the Move," she said. "Our focus for this half-term has been bicycles. It really brought it to life for the children. It was great."