Browse Sections

• Education
• Special reports

Bikers and Bev raise £15,000

30/12/2004

A CONVOY of bikers who drove through the streets of Salford delivering Christmas gifts to sick children have raised more than £15,000 for a children's hospice.

Members of the Mid-Life Crisis Motorcycle Club, Manchester's Hell's Angels and Coronation Street star Beverley Callard flooded into the streets of Salford in their leathers to deliver toys and presents to children in the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in Pendlebury on their annual charity toy run.

But on their way they also managed to raise much-needed funds for Francis House Children's Hospice which looks after children suffering with life threatening illness.

David Woodrow, fundraising manager at the hospice, was delighted with the effort they all made.

He said: "They are an incredible bunch of guys with hearts of gold and they are definitely real softies. They were bowled over when they came to visit the hospice and I think some of them were quite affected by what they saw.

"This is one of the larger sums of money we have received from a group of people and we really appreciate it. They are fantastic and so was Bev Callard who has worked hard to raise the event's profile."

Beverley Callard, who plays Liz McDonald in Coronation Street, had never been on a bike before the event but members of the Mid-Life Crisis Motorcycle Club believe she is already hooked.

Steve Ratcliffe, a member of the club, said: "She was fantastic, she rode all the way with us and even stood up on the back of the bike."

Beverley is hoping to continue her work with the bikers and raising money for Francis House Hospice.

She added: "I jumped at the chance to get involved. We get asked to get involved in a lot of things like this, but when I heard this what about people in the area I live and work in and one that involves children, I knew I had to be part of it."