Escalator ban for former olympic hurdler
August 18th 2008

Peter Hildreth, who represented Britain at three Olympic Games, was stopped from trying to recreate his old training regime from the 1950s at a department store in Surrey.

Mr Hildreth competed in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, the 1956 Melbourne Games and then again in 1960 in Rome. His best achievement was to reach the semi-finals in Helsinki, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The grandfather-of-five managed to run up the moving stairs in Elphicks in Farnham but was then told he would be banned from the Surrey department store if he tried it again.

"I started doing it last month because I was turning 80," explained Mr Elphick. "People did not see me do it to start with, I must have done it three or four times.

"But at the top of the escalator in Elphicks is the women's underwear department and the woman who runs it told me to stop because it was dangerous."

Store manager Graham Duerden said: "We have people aged 80 who go the right way up the escalator and fall over so we simply can't have this man attempting this sort of thing.

"I was aware that he was doing this and we told him that if he continues then he will be banned so now he has stopped I believe."

Mr Hildreth continued: "As a young man I used to run up the escalator on the Underground in London, but that was a long time ago.

"I started off doing it in bits and then did it getting on at the bottom. I used to do it about once a week as part of my training when I was not on the track or in the gym."

A spokesperson for Elphicks said: "Anyone who tries to do this in Elphicks will be banned from entering the store again."

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