Southampton bikers help make wedding day special for bride Kelly Blackman and groom Jason Young

Leather-clad bikers roared into Southampton to ensure some highoctane celebrations for these two motorcycle-mad newlyweds.

More than 60 friends and fellow riders from groups in and around Southampton escorted Kelly Blackman to the register office in Bugle Street, where she married Jason Young.

The happy couple, from Townhill Park, then enjoyed a meal at the Fleming Arms with fellow petrolheads before a party at Southampton and District Motorcycle clubhouse in Eastleigh.

The escort, on Saturday, was the idea of the Southampton Bikers group, of which Kelly and Jason are both members.

After the group set off on their specially- decorated bikes from the Tesco superstore in Tebourba Way, they picked up Kelly and her father, who travelled in a Cadillac to the register office.

Her bridesmaids followed in a Lotus Cortina.

She said she had never even been on the back of a bike until she met 42-year-old bus driver Jason, but he had converted her into a keen biker.

Kelly, a 28-year-old optical assistant, said: “We’ve had an absolutely fantastic day, we couldn’t have wished for anything better.

“We knew that there was going to be some form of escort but we didn’t know it was going to be as big as it was.”

Ride organiser Jay De Lay Huray said: “They’re a great couple so we decided to do something different for them on their special day.”

Fellow organiser Jeff Weston added: “There were quite a lot of groups taking part.

“It was also a treat for the father of the bride, who didn’t know anything about the escort – he’s an ex-biker who can’t ride anymore so it’s a treat for him too.

“The aim was to have fun and to make it a lovely day for them.”