Anniversary meet expected to welcome 10,000 bikers

The Calne Bike Meet began in 2000

About 10,000 motorcyclists are expected to descend on a small town for an annual festival.

The Calne Bike Meet in Wiltshire is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Saturday.

The event raises thousands of pounds for charity, and this year will be fundraising for the charities Bliss, DocBike and the Calne Food Bank.

Organiser Greg Widger told BBC Radio Wiltshire: "Some bikers might look a bit scary, but we're a soft-hearted bunch, and we'll do anything for charity."

"We reckon around 10,000 [bikers] would be about right - and that doesn't include other people who come along from the town."

The event started in 2000 as a casual annual meet-up for bikers, but has now grown to resemble a small festival, with live music from local bands, along with food outlets and stalls.

Bikers from far and wide come to the annual event

A well-known sculpture of a giant motorbike has also been restored in time for this year's meet.

"We believe it's the biggest event that Calne has," said Mr Widger.

"Over time we've done some calculations on this and we would say somewhere around half a million pounds, three quarters of a million pounds' worth of business comes into Calne on one day."

Bikers now travel from across the UK and at times, beyond, to Wiltshire for the event.

Mr Widger added: "Years ago we had a guy come over from Romania for the event, which is a level of dedication that goes way above and beyond."