A dad from Melksham will be riding 1,200 miles across France to raise money for his daughter’s primary school.

Chris Rose, 44, from Malvern Close, will be riding his motorbike along with three work colleagues as they make their way to the Coup Motos Legende bike meet in Dijon on May 29 and 30.

Mr Rose, who works for the Defence Support Group in Warminster, said he wanted to help Forest and Sandridge School in Sandridge Common where his 10-year-old daughter Charlotte is a pupil.

Mr Rose said: “Charlotte thinks it is brilliant and has been saying how she wants to come along too as she is a regular passenger on the back of my bike.

“But it’s a long way for her to go in such a short time as she is only used to local journeys. I think to be honest she would be bored just sitting there for hundreds of miles.”

Mr Rose, 44, said he and some friends did the same trip three years ago and raised £550 for the school through sponsorship, but he is hoping to break the £1,000 mark this time around.

He said: “The school is always fundraising and looking for extra money for things like IT and play equipment, so I thought I would help them.

“Friends and family and work colleagues have been sponsoring me and I am hoping to get a few local companies involved too.”

Mr Rose has been riding motorbikes since he was 17 and as an accomplished rider often enjoys going along to bike meets.

He said the trip to the Coup Motos Legende in Dijon was something he and his friends has done for many years, but after the man who used to organise the annual trip, Andy Westlake, from Devon, suffered a brain tumour things were put on hold.

He said: “Andy had always organised things but he had a brain tumour, from which he has now made a full recovery, and as a result he wanted to take a bit of a back seat so we had missed it the last two years.

“However, we decided to sort something out for this year when we all met up over Christmas.”

Anyone that wants to sponsor Mr Rose can email christopher.rose44@yahoo.

com .