HUNDREDS of people from across the country soaked up the sun at a new scooter festival this weekend.

The first ever Rally In The Valley event was held in Rossendale, starting on Friday before concluding on Sunday.

Fun for all the family was on offer during the event at Marl Pits Leisure Centre in Rawtenstall including a selection of stalls, live music, scooter rides and more.

Although a scooter event is run in the area as part of September's Rossendale 60s Festival, organisers thought there was potential in holding a separate event.

Organiser Darren Ashworth, of the Stacksteads Lone Riders Scooters Club, decided to organise the gathering which he said was a big success.

He said: “It’s gone really well, we’ve had a fantastic turnout.

“I’ve always loved scooters and I just thought it would be something good to bring this sort of event to the area.

“We’ve had so many stalls on offer, the ride along on Saturday went down really well.

“It’s great to see so many people have come along for it, we’d love to do it again next year.”

Mr Ashworth also thanked Rossendale Council which helped him with grant funding to set up the event.

He said any profits from the event will go into hosting it next year and hoped it would become self-supporting.

Guests came on their scooters from across East Lancashire, Manchester, Macclesfield and even as far as Swindon.

The event featured live music from The Itch on Friday night and the following day DJ Tony Kennedy offered entertainment before headline band The Rics took to the stage on the evening.

Guests camped out in tents and campervans as they took part in the weekend’s fun.

Saturday offered a scooter owners the chance to ride out through the Rossendale Valley and on to Hollingworth Lake.

A variety of different scooter competitions were also on offer with prizes for the best Vespa, Lambretta, custom scooter and more.

The wide variety of stalls on offer at the event include seller of sweets, coffee,clothing, scooters and equipment, arts and crafts and Greek street food.

Barry Hyde, who also helped organise the event, said: “It’s an absolutely great thing for Rossendale. I feel that it has great potential to become an annual event. It had a great atmosphere and those scooterists that I spoke to were very impressed with the facilities.”