BUDDING racing drivers were rushing down to a Bolton toy shop in 1978 to try out a scale model of the Brands Hatch circuit.
Bill Thornton, owner of Alpha Toys on Oxford Street, paid £1,500 for the huge slot car layout which measured 240 square feet to bring people into his store.
He was staging a knock-out competition over a series of Saturdays in July to find Bolton’s answer to James Hunt with model racing sets being offered as prizes for the four finalists.
The second-hand layout could take four cars and was a replica of the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent which had recently held the British Grand Prix complete with grandstands, trees and even advertising hoardings around the circuit.
Did you have a go on the Brands Hatch layout? Do you know who won the competition? What are your memories of Alpha Toys? Send your memories and photographs to john.anson@nqnw.co.uk
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