This 1960 Brilliant was rescued from a builder's rubbish tip where it had been dumped (along with a Dawes, barely visible in the background behind the green Hetchins--mouse over for captions). The man who resuced it did not know it was a Hetchins as there were no transfers or head badge to identify it. He took the bikes home and painted the 'bent' one yellow. There happened to be a road race passing by, so he 'crashed' the bike into his hedgerow (see photo above) with a 'rider' having apparently landed on top of the hedge. The scene began to attract attention and several people knocked at the door to inquire whether the yellow bike were for sale. The new owner's suspicions were arosed that it might be worth something. Eventually, a cyclist stopped and informed him that it must be a Hetchins (identified by the curly stays) and advised him to put a lock on it (which he did).
The frame was subsequently entrusted to Jackson Cycles in Leeds for a full restoration and no expense was spared to source period-correct components (thanks to Pedal Pedlar in E. London). The bike made its debut at Tibberton in the summer of 2015.
Every Hetchins has a story to tell. This is one of the happier ones. A day later, this bike would probably have been sent to the shredder.
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