Motorbike fans flock to big Shropshire show

More than 8,000 people packed into Telford International Centre on Saturday and Sunday for the Telford Twin Shock, Classic & Road Racing Show.

The annual event was back in Shropshire for the sixth time, and organiser Alan Wright said it had been the most successful to date.

He said people had travelled from as far afield as the USA, Holland and Portugal to attend the event, which Mr Wright said was the biggest of its kind in the world.

Motorbike enthusiasts young and old browsed dozens of stalls set out around the bottom floors of Telford International Centre, with more than 500 road race, trials, grass track, speedway and motocross machines from the 1930s to the year 2000, including many famous factory machines in their original condition, on display.

The event also featured talks from a range of special guest speakers, including Ian Hutchinson, a motorcycle road racer who required 30 operations after a crash in 2010 that shattered his left leg.

He spoke about his comeback from injury, as well as his hugely successful career which saw him become the only man ever to win 5 TTs in one year.

Also at the event over the course of the weekend was American Brad Lackey, the former 500cc Motocross World Championship winner and eight-times Isle of Man TT winner Charlie Williams.

Mr Wright, from Stratford-upon-Avon, said about 5,000 people had come to the show on Saturday, with an estimated 3,000 people expected over the course of the day on Sunday.

"It is the biggest one yet," he said.

"It is the only show of its kind in the world that is this big."

Among those visiting the show were Chris and Dawn Bradley, from Redditch, who travelled up from Worcestershire on Sunday to take in the second day of the show, which they said had been recommended to go to the event by friends.

Mr Bradley said they had enjoyed their first visit to the show.

"I used to be a racer in the 1980s so it is bringing back the memories."