A group of 500 bikers who drove together across Essex have raised thousands of pounds for a military charity.

Terry Youngs and his team of bikers presented £3,000 to the Army Benevolent Fund Soldier’s Charity yesterday in Colchester town centre.

The group gathered the funds at bucket collections and a D-Day memorial bike ride which has now become an annual event.

Around 500 bikers rode from Merville Barracks in Colchester to Whitehouse Farm, Rettendon, where a memorial service was held in June last year.

This year Terry hopes to swell the coffers on June 2, with each rider paying a fee to be part of the journey.