A RECORD 12,000 motorcycling fans attended Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s Bike4Life Ride Out and Festival, raising £63,500 for the Dudley-based cause.

More than 6,000 bikers took part in the 23-mile ride out from Shrewsbury to RAF Cosford, alongside truck racing legend Steve Parrish, adventure motorcyclist Nick Sanders, ITV4 Motorbike Show’s Henry Cole, emergency bikers Mark Hayes and Steve Forrest, and the charity’s chief executive Hanna Sebright.

On arrival at the festival in Cosford, the bikers and visitors were entertained by live bands, including Black Tower, Hollowstar, Mallen and The Wholls, and the festival’s headliners Toseland, whose frontman, James Toseland, is a former Superbike World Champion.

There were arena displays, a safety village, live interviews, traders and stalls, while motorbike manufacturers including Triumph, BMW Motorrad and Honda also drew in the crowds, as did a fly over from two Spitfire aircraft.

The fundraising total of £63,500 for the Lye charity – a 40 per cent increase on the 2015 event’s total – will now help to fund 25 air ambulance missions across the region.

Jason Levy, the charity’s fundraising director and chair of the Bike4Life organising committee, said: “Our ride out is always a much anticipated event for bikers, and this year was certainly our biggest yet.

“Due to the growing popularity of the festival, and thanks to the support from RAF Cosford, we moved the event to the airfield to accommodate the 12,000 visitors, a third more than previous years.

“Over a 35 per cent of the incidents our three air ambulances attend are road traffic accidents, and sadly a great number of these involve motorcyclists in urgent need of medical attention.

“The atmosphere on the day was fantastic, and a huge thank you goes to the bikers and pillions who did the ride out and to everyone who attended the festival for their support of our event and the charity.”

Organisers are already looking ahead to next year’s Bike4Life Ride Out and Festival which is expected to take place on Sunday May 7, 2017.

For more information about the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, visit www.midlandsairambulance.com