Scooter fans flock to charity show

From finely tuned Lambrettas to classic Vespas, scores of scooter fans headed to the West Midlands over the weekend to share their passion and raise money for charity at the same time.

At its busiest there were more than 200 scooters on display at WS9 Scooters, in Brickyard Road, Aldridge. The event was organised to raise cash for Cancer Research and attracted riders from St Helens, Watford, Halifax and Nuneaton, as well as clubs across the Black Country.

Organiser and shop boss Darren Drewett said the event was in honour of his dad Alan, who died of cancer four years ago.

The scooter restorer said even he was stunned by a couple of appearances from the little seen TV175 Series 1 and a couple of Choppers, the long, low American-style motorbikes made famous by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider.

The TV175 was built in the 1950s and is one of the most prized scooters available, painted in light blue. It can fetch around £4,000, more than double the price of a new scooter.

“It was a fantastic day,” he said. “We managed not to get too much rain. We do this every year where we try and get people here with scooters and have a number of stalls and things to do. There must have been over 200 scooters here at one point. I couldn’t get to see them all because I was so busy.”

In 2006 the scooter enthusiast was asked to display a number of bikes at the Classic Bike Show at the NEC.

Among the bikes he chose were Lambrettas from the 1960s and Vespas from the 1970s and 1980s. Other charity events they have taken part in include a round-trip of London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh.

The eight-strong team raised thousands of pounds during their trip.

The company specialises in Vespa, Lambretta, Innocenti and Piaggio.