NOVICE biker Carolyn Wolstenholme has fulfilled her dream of riding a Harley Davidson and insisted: "I only wish we had been able to go faster!"

People filled motorway bridges, cameras clicked, crowds cheered and watching motorists waved as she joined more than 1,000 gleaming machines which took over the Valley's roads for the Rossendale Valley Motorbike Show ride-in.

Carolyn, 55, of Laneside, Haslingden, had polio as a child and, along with fellow members of the North East Lancashire branch of the British Polio Fellowship, she was a volunteer marshal for the day.

Marshal's organiser Susan Troughton, arranged for Carolyn's wish to come true and she rode atop Barry Dunnett's American dream machine.

Barry travelled from his home in Droylsden just to fulfil Carolyn's dream and he gave her a T-shirt, badges and stickers from his Harley club.

Before the riders set off Carolyn admitted to having butterflies - but when the cavalcade arrived at Newhallhey Cricket Ground there was no stopping her.

"It was brilliant," she proclaimed. "I only wish we had been able to go faster! My next dream is to ride a Harley across America! Everybody was so nice and kind it was a lovely day. I would recommend any organisation to get involved with the bike show and be a marshal."

Also on the ride-in was the Mayor of Rossendale, Coun Alan Neal, who had just completed a 3,000-mile bike tour of Britain, Page Three model Tracey Coleman and Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson.

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