Bikers to honour victim of Nottingham attacks

Motorcycle enthusiasts are due to gather in memory of a 19-year-old student killed in the Nottingham attacks.

The event, in Harlow, Essex, will raise money for the Grace O'Malley-Kumar Foundation on 1 June.

Miss O'Malley-Kumar was fatally stabbed along with Barnaby Webber, 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates in June 2023.

Event organiser Dave Merry, a family friend of the University of Nottingham student, said: "I'm doing my part to keep her memory alive."

Bikers have been encouraged to meet at ITS tool shop in Edinburgh Way, Harlow, at 11:00 BST.

It will follow a similar ride out held in 2024, when hundreds of motorcyclists rode from Essex to Nottinghamshire.

Miss O'Malley-Kumar was from Woodford Green in east London and played youth cricket for Essex up to under-15 level.

Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes, which presented Miss O'Malley-Kumar's family with a bike named in her honour last year, was invited again this year.

"Hopefully it should be an amazing day," Mr Merry said. "We can turn what is a sad occasion into a fitting day."

Miss O'Malley-Kumar's family have been raising money for causes she supported during her life.

Her father,Sanjoy Kumar was a police doctor who met Mr Merry, a Metropolitan Police officer, through his work.

"Grace said she felt safe around me and I told her 'Grace, no matter what time of day, I'll always be there for you'," Mr Merry said.

"But sadly on13 June I wasn't and that's just eaten at me. I think about it all the time, that I didn't fulfil that promise."

Mr Merry said Miss O'Malley-Kumar loved riding her Vespa scooter, and organising the event was his way of saying sorry.

"Whenever I met her she was always polite and a lovely young lady," he added.

"No matter what she did, she did it with her heart."

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