BIKING friends of former Burnley and Pendle Council employee Heather Smith held a memorial bike ride on what would have been her 36th birthday.

The motorcyclists met at the Thatch and Thistle Pub in Nelson, before setting off for Newby, where an accident which claimed Heather's life happened on May 24. Her fiance Chris Laycock led the convoy of bikers to the famous biker's meeting place Kirkby Lonsdale. They stopped off at Newby en-route, to pay respects.

Fund-raising has begun to buy a bench in her memory to be erected at the accident site.

The mother-of-two, from St Matthew Street, Burnley, was riding her Yamaha R6 bike towards Settle when the accident happened and she was in collision with a tanker.

Heather had worked for 15 years with Pendle Council before moving to work for Burnley Council as administration manager in the parks department last December.