Mod Roy scoots back to craft 60s’ revival

But now, Roy Amos, has another scooter to cherish almost 50 years after a gang of rockers threw his prized Vespa GS 150 off Hastings Pier and into the briny, in one of the series of clashes between the two factions which raged along the south coast in the 1960s.

That was the last he saw of his first Vespa, but on Saturday, Roy will be showing off his new wheels, a 1984 Vespa SX, complete with numerous highly-polished chrome mirrors and lights, at the craft fair he has organised for many years at St Mary’s Church, Littlehampton.

And visitors to the fair will be able to have a sit on the scooter, try on Roy’s parka and have their photo taken for a small donation to the church’s restoration fund, which the fair supports.

“I was a bit of a tearaway in those days,” admits Roy, who renewed his enthusiasm for scooters earlier this year when he bought the Vespa from its owner in Shropshire, joined a scooter club and has since been taking part in various shows and rallies.

Other attractions at the fair, from 10am-3pm, include 34 stalls with a wide range of crafts, and demonstrations by some of the crafts people, all in the attractive setting of the empty church, cleared specially for the occasion. Light lunches and refreshments will be available and admission is free. St Mary’s is in Church Street.