Gary Towsey, a father-of-six from Liverpool, stumbled into an upscale Edinburgh hotel wearing a kilt he found abandoned on a park bench and was mistaken for Olympic cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy. Hotel staff at the Bonham Hotel believed Towsey was the cycling champion and provided him with complimentary accommodation worth £600. The elaborate misunderstanding occurred when the intoxicated Towsey decided to wear the Highland dress he found in The Meadows park.

Towsey, who was later cleared of fraud charges related to the incident, had no connection to the theft of the Highland regalia from a dress hire outlet. Despite pleading guilty to handling stolen goods, Towsey was ordered to pay a fine of £280 for the reset offence. The real Chris Hoy, a celebrated British athlete, continues his charitable work despite undergoing treatment for stage four prostate cancer.