Rochdale bikers show love for Ukraine with community bike ride

A community of motorbike riders came together for a charity bike ride to raise over £4,000 for Ukraine.

Based at Packer Street in Rochdale, Brass Knuckle Riders is a group of motorbike enthusiasts made up of men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Formed in 2017, they regularly host bike riding events and fundraise for good causes.

Its members range from 16-year-olds with mopeds to riders in their late 70s. Recently, the group decided to host a charity bike ride to donate money and medical supplies to EastLancs4Ukraine, a team which is distributing aid within Ukraine.

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Brass Knuckle Riders encouraged every participating biker to donate what they could, and donations also poured in online. Around 1,426 bikers turned up at Birch Westbound services on the M62 Motorway, did a full lap of the M60 motorway and ended up back at the services.

On Wednesday (30 March), Brass Knuckle Riders presented a cheque of £4,475 to EastLancs4Ukraine.

Spokesperson for the group Paul Whitaker, 53, told the MEN: "A lot of our members are ex-service personnel, who were in the Armed Forces. We also have Fire Brigade members and nurses, we have got a whole demographic. Our ex-servicemen and ladies know what it’s like to be in a warzone, to be put in danger. We all felt like we wanted to do something for Ukraine.

"It doesn’t matter what walk of life you are from, it touches you. We didn’t want to sit back and do nothing."

Brass Knuckle Riders contacted East Lancs4Ukraine, and the coordinator, Harley Whitehead, told Paul that there was a huge demand for medical supplies.

Paul continued: "Being a British national, Harley was able to go across the