MORE than 120 motorbikes were seen roaring through Dorchester to honour the special wish of a local care home resident.

Motorbike enthusiasts gathered at the Top O’ Town car park in Dorchester for lifelong fanatic Joe Canning.

Joe, 77, is a resident of the Maiden Castle House care home and had the wish of riding with a motorcycle group for the first time in 20 years.

He travelled up to the car park in a sidecar attached to a motorbike where, to his surprise, he was met by 126 kind-hearted riders.

They then accompanied him in a procession through Dorchester going up towards Poundbury, as people lined the streets to watch.

Afterwards, the bikers were invited back to the care home on Gloucester Road for servings of tea and cake whilst chatting to Joe about their shared love of motorbikes. Joe’s daughter, Nicola, was also there.

Dorset Echo: Maiden Castle House resident Joe in the motorbike sidecarThe special event was in response to Joe’s riding wish, which came true after the activities lead at the care home, Emma Norman, put out a ‘shout-out’ to the local biker community to organise a surprise rally - and found they were very keen to help with.

The activities team organise a daily programme of events to bring residents together to socialise and build friendships.

Local residents who supported the rally included John Bramble who led the charge from the local Bikers for Action South West group, Richard Lucas who provided a sidecar for Joe to sit in, and Will Badman who captured photos so that Joe had mementoes of his special day.

Joe said: “It was a great day and I didn’t expect so many people to be there. I enjoyed it very much.”

Ash Smith, Home Manager at Maiden Castle House, said: “We were overwhelmed by the number of bikers who turned up to support Joe and the number of people who lined the streets to wave as he zoomed past.

"It was lovely to see Joe having a fantastic day with the help and support of the local community.

“At Care South, we pride ourselves on getting to know the individual likes and dislikes of the residents in our care, including any dreams and wishes that they may have, in the hope that we can safely make them happen."