Police say cornering and overtaking are the riskiest manoeuvres

More than 60,000 bikers are expected to pass through the gates by the end of the British Motorcycle Federation Rally in Peterborough over the weekend.

The county's police force and council decided the event would be the ideal place to push motorcycle safety classes.

Steve Merrett, council Road Safety Officer, said the rally presented the county with a "golden opportunity" to sign bikers up for "Bikers", a course which includes a classroom sessions and road tests.

He said: "Put simply, this course will save lives.

"We will be running a prize draw to act as an extra incentive to encourage riders to sign up."

In 2002, the county saw 393 motorcycle casualties, of which eight were fatal and 106 resulted in serious injury to the rider.

Mr Merrett said analysis of the reasons for the accidents showed even experienced bikers can have trouble taking corners correctly, and sometimes they are not aware of the hazards of overtaking other vehicles.