Plans are already underway for next year's Riders in the Sky (RITS) event in Glastonbury, after the 2021 running saw more than £8,000 raised for charity.

The organisers of the popular biking event say they are currently looking to finalise the date for the 2022 event, with the bank holidays being different next year due to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

This year, RITS raised £8,344.66 for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, with the total raised for the charity since 2010 being more than £90,000.

Event organiser Nikki Lamb told Glastonbury Nub News: "The day went really well, we weren't sure how busy it would be given the Covid situation, but it was an amazing turn out with 274 bikes clicked in for the ride out.

"We had a new arena this year which featured the Rockets Children's Motorcycle Display team, all the way down from Hampshire.

"As for our plans for next year, we are still deciding a date as the May Bank Holiday is different due to the jubilee, however we will hopefully be releasing the 2022 date soon.

"Thanks to everyone in our community and the people who travel from far to come and support us.

"We had a lot of new followers come and join our ride out this year which was lovely to see and a lot of great feedback.

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"Our team is a group of volunteers, we all have our day-to-day lives and we try our best to put this event on for the community to have a great day out and also to raise as much possible for the air ambulance. Our total raised to date is now £90,088.17."

RITS was formed after dedicated charity support Lee Baker was killed on November 8 2010. He liked doing many different ventures to raise money, from sky dives to naked calendars.

After his death, some friends wanted to organise an event in memory of him and do something he would of loved.

One of Lee's great loves was motorcycles and this was how many of the group had met him, so they decided they wanted to do a motorcycle ride-out around some of his favourite roads.

However, Lee had such a varied group of friends from all walks of life, so turning the afternoon into a family fun day gave the opportunity to all who knew him to get together and enjoy the day.

When deciding on a charity to support, RITS chose the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance because of the important role it plays in this rural area, saving vital time in the most serious of cases.