BIKERS were out in force in Worcester as part of a national campaign encouraging drivers to look longer for bikes on the road.

A team of motorcyclists from the Institute of Advanced Motorists joined Worcestershire County Council's senior road safety officer Sid Stephenson and Worcestershire Motorcyle Forum's project officer Paul Cooper for the event.

The exercise - which ties in with a poster campaign featuring reminders for motorcyclists about how to make sure they are seen - was held at the junction of Lime Avenue and Brickfields Road in Brickfields yesterday afternoon.

The junction was chosen because it is seen as a problem. Although there have been no recorded accidents there, Brickfields Road is busy and trees at the entrance obscure views. Bikers showed how hard it can be to be seen by cars as they pulled in and out of the road.

Mr Stephenson said: "What we're trying to do is get drivers to look twice and actively look for motorcyclists as it's not usually motorcyclists causing the problem but drivers pulling."

Anyone interested in joining the motorcycle forum can contact Mr Cooper on 01905 766876.

It comes after the latest statistics reveal that 41 motorcyclists were killed and 458 seriously injured in the West Midlands during the last three years.

While there has been a fall in fatal road accidents involving car drivers over the three year period, the number of fatalities involving motorcyclists had doubled to eight