A KEIGHLEY woman is riding the local leg of a national charity teddy bear relay.

Olivia Butterworth will ride her motorbike through Yorkshire and Lancashire as part of the 6,500-mile journey.

As part of the Relay Riders UK she will help raise money for DocBike, a charity which funds bike-riding medics who provide critical care at road crashes.

Olivia is appealing for local bikers to join her for leg 168, which will leave Skipton Castle on July 8 at 6pm in the direction of Keighley, finishing in Oldham.

Olivia was for several years involved in Keighley’s voluntary and community sector, particularly working with health groups.

She now leads the Patient and Public Voice team at NHS England with responsibilities including promoting citizen involvement in the National Health Service.

She is also a trustee with the LGBT Foundation, a charity delivering community, health and wellbeing services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in the UK.

Relay Riders is a motorcycle group with more than 4,000 members across the UK, which over the past four years has raised more than £40,000 for charities including Help for Heroes, Soldiers Off the Street and Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes.

A Relay Riders spokesman said “The UK’s biggest annual charity motorcycle teddy bear relay is an amazing event.

“The mascot will be carried by volunteer motorcycle riders 24 hours a day around the UK to set handover points over a two-week period.

“DocBike funds a high-profile medical professional on an emergency motorcycle to provide roadside critical care, and engage with motorcyclists to raise awareness to eradicate all motorcycle deaths and dramatically reduce the number of motorcyclists who are critically injured on our roads.”

Last year past yes teddy bear relay covered 6,500 miles with more 200 handover points where the teddy bear mascot was passed from one motorcycle to another in a continuous journey.

Visit relayriders.co.uk for further information on the relay, and how to take part or donate money.