Horsepower on show at Cheltenham racecourse

Up to 10,000 people headed for Cheltenham Racecourse earlier this month, but it was mechanical rather than equine horsepower which was the big attraction, as the National BikeSafe Motorcycle Show got underway.

The BikeSafe initiative has been run by police forces around the UK for a number of years, working with the biking world to help lower the number of motorcycle rider casualties, although this was the first time the national event had been held in Gloucestershire.

Alongside the range of revolutionary bikes on display – including the Durham Police PoliceBlade, a Honda Fireblade in full police livery – around 1,000 riders brushed up their skills thanks to free tuition from 60 of the UK’s top constabulary instructors.

Sgt Rodney Inness (pictured right),

a police motorcyclist from Barbados, also joined in with the BikeSafe weekend before his trip home, after attending a course with Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Collision Investigation Unit.

Inspector Paul Morrissey, who oversees Motorway and Roads Policing for the Gloucestershire force, said: “BikeSafe was a huge event with a wide variety of entertainment and fun activities available for people of all ages, and we are thrilled to have hosted it in Gloucestershire for the first time.

“All the visitors I spoke to were hugely impressed with the size and scale of the event and the amount of attractions on offer, and sponsors and manufacturers have expressed interest in returning to the event next year.

“But there was a serious side to the event, because an unacceptably high number of motorcyclists are killed or injured on roads up and down the country every year.

“We want to change that and help motorcyclists to improve their road skills, while also providing them with a great

day out with like-minded bikers from across Britain.”

Government figures have this year shown the highest number of road deaths for six years, rising from 3,431 in 2002 to 3,508 in 2003, an increase of two per cent. But the biggest problem was with deaths among motorcyclists, which rose

by 14 per cent.