Fans join 'rock and stroll' in singer's memory

The event continues over the weekend with countryside and beach walks

Late musician and campaigner Mike Peters is being honoured with a series of events in and around his home village of Dyserth in Denbighshire.

The Alarm lead singer died in April aged 66 after living with blood cancer for 30 years.

The four-day Red Rocks Solidarity Rock n Stroll, which concludes on Sunday, is described as a reflection, relaxation and revelry in and around the village pub owned and run by his wife, Jules.

Fans have already joined friends and family to take part in a hike as part of a charity campaign to find stem cell donors.

Peters clocked up plenty of mileage travelling round the world, playing to sell-out crowds as frontman of The Alarm.

But when he returned to north Wales he kept moving, taking long walks around its hills.

About 30 fans have been following in his footsteps as part of a charity hike - one of several this weekend.

Mike Peters' charity Love Hope Strength has organised the event

"It's a celebration of community, friendship, music and trying to save lives by getting people to become bone marrow and stem cell donors," said his wife, Jules.

She and the cancer charity he co-founded, Love Hope Strength, has organised the event.

"Going for walks like this with these lovely views - this is my religion," she added.

Fans have travelled from far and wide to sign up for hikes and beach walks around some of Peters' favourite places.

Among those is Michael O'Connell, from Connecticut, US, who said: "I have friends that I met when I was 17,18 at shows and we're still friends to this day."

David Earnshaw from Dyserth, who has known the Peters family for decades, said: "The people here are just the loveliest people in the world, and we get to hike so it's wonderful."

Musician Matt Peach, guitarist of rock group Kelsy Karter and The Heroines, serenaded some walkers with The Alarm songs.

"The songs you learn when you're first learning guitar as a child - for a lot of people it's Guns n Roses or Green Day - mine is The Alarm so they're all in my head," he said.

Participants are being invited to become a stem cell donor in the hope that they might be able to offer help to those living with cancer and leukaemia.

Deanna Cochran, from Atlanta, Georgia, who works for Love Hope Strength, said it was a "very easy way to make a difference in someone's life and save a life".