A council chairman was given the full presidential treatment of a team of motorcycling outriders when he opened a new club house for a group of safety-conscious bikers.

The three-wheeled motorcade from the Rayleigh Riders accompanied Richard Amner, chairman of Rochford District Council, to the club's new headquarters in the Brook Road Industrial Estate, Rayleigh.

On the road - council chairman Richard Amner, right, tours the new base of the Rayleigh Riders and meets the biker club's mascot Molly the parrot Picture: TERENCE BUNCH

Mr Amner said: "This is really great news as the emphasis of the club has always been on safety."

The club has had to meet in various pubs for the last seven years but thanks to Woodhouse Engineering which donated the land, the 200 members now have their own place with a tea bar and snooker table.

Rayleigh Riders president Ray Knott said: "We have had up to 200 members and as yet having driven all round Europe and clocked up two million miles we have not had a single accident."

"We're not Hells Angels, just ordinary family people who like to go out for a ride."

Published Monday, May 19, 2003

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