Love at first sight

HELEN and Chris Hewett have known each other since they were four years old and, while it might not have been love at first sight back then, it very soon was. They became childhood sweethearts and marriage was an inevitable conclusion when the time came. Today, Chris is a specialist Hazardous Area Response Team paramedic and in his spare time is chairman of the Camel Trophy Club, while Helen is an animal chiropractor specialising in horses and dogs.

They also share other passions – for Camel Trophy, Land Rovers generally, and off-roading. Between them they own a much-cherished and original Camel 110 that was part of the advance party in the Argentina-Paraguay-Chile ’94 event, and a stunning Freelander I that was used during the international team selections in Sweden for Tierra del Fuego ’98.

We’re meeting at their house in the glorious Mendip Hills in Somerset, just around the corner from Cheddar Gorge, because their Freelander recently achieved a degree of fame when it won the Most Original Freelander class at the Land Rover Legends National Awards. Unfortunately, both Helen and Chris were working over the weekend in June when the event was being held