Creative siblings show off DIY skills

Conor, Ollie and Emily help dad Aaron fashion go-kart from an old bath

Creative siblings have built a go-kart out of an old bath and car parts salvaged from Knockhill motor racing circuit in Fife to keep busy during the lockdown.

Former Royal Navy engineer Aaron Hicks, 42, set his youngsters the task to keep them occupied during the coronavirus pandemic.

Conor, 13, Ollie, 15, and Emily, aged six, have been test-driving the DIY go-kart in the streets near their home in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, and in their garden.

The go-kart, named the Havelock Flyer Mk 6, was built using an old bathtub and materials salvaged from crashes at motor sports events at Knockhill.

Aaron and his two sons are keen motor sports enthusiasts, and carefully built a vehicle which has brakes and steering.

The go-kart is an upside-down bath with the bottom sliced off so a person can sit in it, painted pale blue with yellow stripes.

Proud mum Donna, 46, said: “It was my husband’s idea to start off with but he and the two boys are really into motor sports.

“They love going go-karting and they’re both really good at it but they don’t do it as a serious hobby or anything like that.

“Between them all they’ve researched different ways of doing it, what the best options would be.

“It’s got brakes this time around and full steering so there’s quite a lot involved in it.

“We’ve jokingly said that’s their tech lessons in the afternoon as they’ve had to do school work in the mornings.”

The go-kart is the sixth vehicle the family has built, and is the most sophisticated yet.

Mum-of-three Donna said the lockdown had proved a perfect combination of having the time, materials and skills to put to use.

She added: “We live in a really quiet cul-de-sac on a gentle slope.

“It is not as if they are going fast or at a distance.

“The boys are experienced with go-karts and they won’t be going at any speed.

“You can never take away risks, and the kids need to learn how to take risks and have fun.

“There is a myth around that the world is more dangerous now than it was 10 or 20 years ago, but statistically that’s not the case.”

The project has also proved a welcome distraction during the lockdown.

Donna, a former social worker, added: “It’s been hard keeping their spirits up more than anything else.

“I’ve had to keep reminding their dad that it is for the boys, because he’s been a bit over-enthusiastic about the whole thing.

“It’s down to their dad really, that he’s come up with things for them to do.”

But the go-kart is not the only things the DIY-mad family have turned their hand to.

Donna said: “They’ve also painted what they call the man cave – a wooden cabin in the garden.

“The fences have been painted, we’ve actually run out of paint.

“We have been trying to keep busy.”