Clock collector, 75, has to turn back all 5,000 of his timepieces by an hour as British Summer Time comes to an end
- Roy West, 75, from Eastleigh, Hants, has amassed a collection of 5,000 clocks
- He and wife Pauline, 68, have 30 beside timepieces and dozens more on walls
- As UK returns to GMT following end of summer, Mr West had to reset each clock individually over five hours
A clock collector has spent more than five hours turning back 5,000 timepieces by an hour.
Roy West, 75, had a longer night than most of the country, has he attempted to keep his huge clock collection to time as the country moved back to Greenwich Mean Time following the end of summer.
He amassed the array clocks over nearly 40 years which now cover every inch of his two-bed flat.
‘It’s a long job but I don’t mind. I don’t want any telling the wrong time,’ Roy, of Eastleigh, Hants, told the Sun.
Roy West, 75, has spent more than five hours turning back 5,000 timepieces by an hour as the country moved back to Greenwich Mean Time following the end of summer.
The avid collector has amassed the array of timepieces over nearly 40 years, and they now cover every inch of his two-bed flat
He went on: ‘I start in the bedroom, because I have the most in there. That takes an hour and a half.
‘I then go into the living room and that takes an hour, then the hallway, kitchen, bathroom and the cupboards. Finally I do the spare room, which takes another hour.’
Roy, who lives with wife Pauline, 68, has 30 bedside clocks plus many more on the bedroom walls, the bathroom, and littering cupboards.
Rather annoyingly 25 of them chime every 15 minutes, but it doesn’t bother Roy, who says ‘you get used to it’.
Roy, who lives with wife Pauline, 68, has 30 bedside clocks plus many more on the bedroom walls, the bathroom, and littering cupboards
‘I start in the bedroom, because I have the most in there. That takes an hour and a half,’ said Roy about changing back his collection of 5,000 clocks
His obsession with clocks began when his boss threw away a perfectly good working one, and Roy still goes out to charity shops looking for new and old ones to add to his collection.
Earlier this week, the London Eye rotated backwards for the first time in its 20-year history to mark the clocks going backwards this morning.
The huge Southbank attraction changed its direction for one hour, starting at around 7.30am, with special guests stepping on board to receive a new perspective of the London skyline.
But while the moment was televised live on ITV, it was less about the spectacle and more to serve as a reminder that everyone gains an hour back at 2am in the morning.
The practice of daylight savings, which was scrapped by the EU, is designed to make evening daylight last longer, but sacrifices normal sunrise times.