Bikers escort friend on his final journey

DOZENS of bikers travelled to Cardiff to provide a poignant funeral escort to a much-loved motorcycle fanatic.

Jeffrey Sullivan, who died on May 18, was described as having an “exceptional personality” and was known as a man who loved his motorbikes.

Bikers were invited to escort his hearse to the crematorium – and many turned up to honour the life of the 58-year-old who lost his battle with cancer.

Yesterday, the bikers met at Llanrumney Leisure Centre before travelling to Thornhill Crematorium.

His brother Phillip was one of many bikers who rode to the crematorium.

Phillip, 62, said: “He was a true biker but he was also a hard worker. He worked for 45 years in the same job. He worked for Sims Metals – he was in the steel industry.”

Phillip said his brother would have loved to have seen all of the bikers turn out for the service. The family spoke of how he had a great personality and would have been looking at the people turning up and saying “and so they should be”.

“He had an exceptional sense of humour,” added Phillip. “He would be laughing about this for a while. We were really close – the whole family are close. Most of the family has grown up around bikes. He had 12 bikes in the shed.”

Friends also spoke of how Mr Sullivan will be missed by the biking community.

Stephen Meeham, 60, grew up with the biking fanatic in Llanrumney. He described Mr Sullivan as a “good friend” and said they would often go riding together.

Mr Meeham said: “He would have loved all this. He would have been shocked to see how many people have turned up.”

Stephen Thomas, 59, was one of around 30 bikers who turned up to say goodbye to Mr Sullivan.

He travelled from Scotland to be a part of the day.

Stephen said: “He was just a very good mate.

“I had a lot of time for him – we just gelled. He loved his bikes.

“I got an email about it and there was a statement posted on Facebook.

“People from all over the country have come forward.”