A man who has ridden around Bristol, Britain and Europe for almost 30 years on a motorbike fitted with a bath as a sidecar has found love - and ridden off with her in the tub.
And when Alan Iles and his bride Leanne Clarke arrived for their wedding on Saturday in Bristol, there was a surprise in store for fans of bath-sidecar contraptions.
For the enterprising biker had constructed a new sidecar bath so they could both be transported to the ceremony in the same way.
Alan first hit the headlines back in 1997 when he unveiled his sidecar bath to the world through the pages of the Bristol Post.
He originally built the bath sidecar in 1991, after realising it would be a cheaper option than buying an actual sidecar.
For almost 25 years, the biker’s sidekick in the sidecar tub was his best mate Thomas Collingwood.
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The pair would travel all over the country, and on roadtrips to Europe, with Tom relaxing in the tub and Alan sitting astride his vintage 1955 BSA Golden Flash, as they crossed the country.
Sadly, Tom passed away just after Christmas 2015, and there was only one way his coffin was making its way to the funeral at South Bristol Crematorium at the end of January 2016.
Three years on, and Alan has a new tub-based passenger. The 68-year-old met Leanne Clarke, 32, through mutual friends, and the couple have been together for over a year and a half now.
On Saturday, they tied the knot at the Register Office in Corn Street, with Leanne making her way to the wedding, all the way from Frenchay, in the tub.
As is tradition, the bride and groom made their separate ways to the ceremony, so a friend rode Alan’s bike.
Alan knew that he too had to arrive in style, so constructed a second bath sidecar for him to travel to the wedding in.
A crowd gathered outside the Register Office as first Alan and then Leanne delighted those who stopped to watch by doing little circuits in their own individual baths, before heading in to tie the knot.
After the wedding ceremony, Alan took to the saddle with his bride back in the bath and the couple, their family and friends enjoyed a big knees up reception at Patchway Labour Club.
“The day couldn’t have gone any better,” said Alan. “We somehow managed to dodge the rain, which was the main thing we were worried about.”
The couple will be setting up home in Cadbury Heath, and are looking forward to many new motorbike-and-sidebath adventures in the future.
“It’s great,” said Alan. “It really turns heads. We do a lot of charity runs, raising money for the hospital and things.
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"There is a seatbelt in there, but that’s really only for when children go in there.
“It’s a great way to travel. What happened originally was that I was thinking of getting a sidecar, but they are really very expensive and there was no way I could afford it.
“I remember looking out in the garden back in about 1990 and there was an old bath in there, and I remember thinking ‘well that would do’, so I put one together. It’s all completely safe and legal and has meets all the safety requirements.
