I've picked up a few different views from various threads about whether it's possible to check your hold baggage for only one sector of a multi-sector flight on a single BA ticket, with the suggestion that the only safe way of getting your bags back at LHR is to book the onbound leg from LGW or LCY.

Does anyone have any experience of problems when the LHR transit stop is more than 12 hours, but not overnight? For me that's plenty long enough to clear customs and get home and back before the onward journey, and I'd like to have the option of dumping some luggage at home rather than taking it on with me (in this particular case I'm expecting to have done a fair bit of shopping in HKG that I don't really want to carry round Europe for the next weekend). Any thoughts on whether I'll have to have a fight at check-in at HKG to make this happen?