Shoe polishing duo put a shine on Wycombe commuters (From Bucks Free Press)

Shoe polishing duo put a shine on Wycombe commuters

9:10am Thursday 4th October 2012 in News By Simon Farr

IF you wonder why commuters using High Wycombe train station have such shiny shoes, it is probably down to this father and son duo.

Dressed in flat-caps and tails, Alfie Hurst, with the help of his dad Terry, has launched a Victorian inspired shoe shining business at the station.

What makes the 17-year-old entrepreneur’s exploits even more impressive is that the keen thespian suffers with severe dyslexia.

He said: "It was bad, I used to bunk school or hide in lessons because it was just so embarrassing as people would laugh at me.

"It turned me into a bit of a bad kid; I got into the wrong crowd and ended up hanging around the streets, fighting with people.

"About three months ago I was thinking about what I could do and I came up with the idea. I enjoy amateur dramatics and used to go to Sea Cadets, where I learnt how to polish shoes, so this is a bit of both."

The Downley double-act have built up a bit of reputation for themselves from impressed train-users, so much so the pair are going to take on more staff to polish the shoes and boots of Reading commuters.

Terry, 54, said: "I’m very proud. Alfie’s an inspiration to other young people and he proves they can turn their lives around and make a career for themselves even if they are faced with difficulties."

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