Pub industry bikers raise £2.5k for Licensed Victuallers School

A group of motorcycle enthusiasts from the pub trade has raised more than £2,500 for the Licensed Victuallers School at Hassocks, in Sussex.

The ride was arranged by BII chief executive Neil Robertson, to highlight the work undertaken by the Licensed Trade Charity and to find out how it raises the money it needs to help licensees - working or retired - who have fallen on hard times.

The event kicked off with an evening's tutored whiskey tasting, hosted by Neil Griffin, boss of Brighton-based bar group Pleisure Limited.

The following morning riders visited the Licensed Victualler School at Hassocks, located a few miles north of the South coast, which caters for more than a dozen youngsters with autism and Asperger's syndrome. This visit was followed by a ride to visit the charity's other school in Ascot, Surrey.

The £2,500 raised by those taking part in the ride will be used to help develop a bespoke training kitchen for the Hassocks school, where pupils can gain real skills for potential employment in the hospitality industry.

Tilda Lawrence, a student at the Hassocks school, said: "I liked it a lot. I really like the motorbikes, although one of them was very loud!"

Speaking of the ride and the money raised, Robertson said: "We were very pleased with the generosity shown by the riders and their sponsors towards such a great school and it was a fantastic way to raise the money".

Bikers taking part included Robertson on his Yamaha R1; Roger Whiteside, managing director of Punch Taverns' leased pub business on his Ducati 1098; Simon Clarke, licensee and member of the Independent Pub Confederation, on his Honda Blackbird, and Keith Knowles, group managing director of Beds and Bars Group, riding a BMW 1200GS.

The Publican​'s City editor Hamish Champ also took part on his Triumph Sprint.