FRIENDS and relatives of a motorbike enthusiast who died in tragic circumstances are planning to have two bikes leading his funeral procession.

The riders, dressed in suits, will front the cortege as it makes it way from Lee Kelsall's home in Anchor Road, Longton, to St Chad's Church just a few hundred yards away. The funeral service will take place on Tuesday.

Mr Kelsall's family say they are expecting the church to be packed out as people pay their respects to the popular young father. The 27-year-old killed himself in May, just months after being made redundant from JCB in Cheadle, where he had been a paint technician.

Mr Kelsall, who lived with his partner Samantha and their two-year-old son Jack, had struggled to cope.

Anyone who wants to attend the funeral service, which starts at 11.15am, is welcome.