Three Cheshire attractions are currently displaying the vintage arcade machine collection of Darren Hesketh, with historical cabinets “delighting” visitors to Hopley House Farm, the Anderton Boat Lift, and the National Waterways Museum.

Hesketh has spent more than 30 years amassing the collection, which includes several Victorian examples, and is keen to see them enjoyed, telling the Northwich Guardian “I’ve always wanted them to be exhibited in public and used.”

“When I was a child in the 1970s, you could still find them at the seaside and on piers and places like that,” said Hesketh. “I’m not sure why I bought my first one. Something must have triggered those childhood memories in me.”

“When I bought my first one, I stripped it down into bits and the restoring side went from there. I’m self-taught, though my dad was an engineer. When you’re an enthusiast, you’re halfway there. When you want to do something, I believe you can move mountains.”

Cabinets on display include vintage flickballs, Bozo the bobbing clown, the “notoriously difficult” Steer-a-Coin machine, a 1960s multi-player ice hockey game, and classic personality testers.

Speaking on the process of restoration, Hesketh said “it wouldn’t be for everybody, but I really enjoy it. Some of them have had a really hard life, so it is quite nice to see them brought back to life.”