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In the quaint, picturesque Cotswolds village of Stow-on-the-Wold, residents quietly going about their business are disturbed by a pair of leather-clad bikers revving a Harley-Davidson engine at ear-splitting volumes. The pesky pair make much mischief, setting off the whole area’s car alarms to their delight – and locals are completely unsurprised to find it is 84-year-old Great British Bake Off biker Prue Leith roaring past on three enormous wheels. The chef’s husband, John Playfair, has discovered the perfect pitch of their £40k Tri Glider, which boasts an 1800 cc engine, to rattle nearby cars into setting off their alarms.

“He thinks it’s hilarious and everybody panics,” admits Prue with an eyeroll. “John is well known in the area. He’s very gregarious.



Everybody knows him – and that he’s quite childish sometimes.” She adds with a chuckle: “He realised that if he revs the motorbike at a certain pitch, it sets off everybody’s car alarms. When I first rode on the back of it, I was really, indignant because I said: ‘You know, this is noise pollution.

This is unfair. You can’t go driving through villages disturbing people with this horrible thing.’” However, John, 78, insists the locals “love” the noise of the reverberating motor.

“They do,” concedes Prue, with an element of surprise. “There is something about a Harley that people just love the sound of it. It’s safe to sit on because you can’t turn over, so you don’t have to w.

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