50 motorcyclists form convoy to honour 'popular and friendly' Nottinghamshire grandad

A convoy of more than 50 motorcyclists took to the streets to honour a "popular and friendly" Nottinghamshire grandad. The riders embarked on a trip from Westdale Lane, Carlton to Gedling Crematorium, via Lambley and Burton Joyce before the funeral of Kevin Knowlden, who died from bowel cancer on Tuesday, May 14.

The 69-year-old from Carlton was leading the way during the eight-mile route on Friday, June 7, with his coffin attached to the side of a bike on which his wife, Bev, was a passenger. The 64-year-old, who was married to Kevin for 35 years, described it as a "magnificent" day.

"It was an honour to see how respected he was," she said. “People at the chemists, chip shop and other places stood outside and watched him go, they stood outside as they all knew him. It was very nice and very emotional.

Get the latest news straight to your phone by joining us on WhatsApp

“He was a popular person. Everyone liked him, he didn’t have any enemies at all. He was helpful and friendly and everyone liked him.

“I wasn’t emotional funnily enough but it was nice to ride with him. Everything went perfectly.” Kevin and Bev's son Jamie, who was in a car behind the convoy, said his dad would have been "gobsmacked" by the occasion.

“It was very upsetting but it was amazing. Loads and loads of people turned up and we raised a lot of money for charity," he said.

“It was a great send-off, it was a really, really good day. People stopped their cars and were staring, they couldn’t believe it.

“We turned up and there were three bikes there, then out of the blue the noise came. All of a sudden there was a line of them and nearly the whole of Westdale Lane was covered in bikes.

“He'd have been gobsmacked, absolutely gobsmacked, he would be so proud. It’s so sad we wait until someone dies to show how much people appreciate them. It was amazing to see how many people’s lives he’d touched."