BPCA news archive

24 November 2022

LNPS sponsors East London youth motorcycle display team

PRESS RELEASE

London Network for Pest Solutions (LNPS) has agreed a sponsorship deal with world-famous East London-based charity The Imps

imps hero

LNPS is funding the purchase of 36 special open-faced helmets that are vital for the safety of the youth display motorcycling team.

Roy Pratt MBE, Founder and Team Director of The Imps, explains:

“The generous donation from LNPS will enable children from a deprived area to take part in the activity as the financing of equipment is beyond the means of many of the parents whose children are involved with The Imps. 

“During the last few years our income has been virtually nothing due to the pandemic and now we are playing catch up as we still have rates, bike maintenance, tax and insurance to pay. We are one of the few youth groups which sings for their supper!”

There are currently 38 riders with a school of 20 children who are learning to become performing team members. It takes six months of training and practise to become sufficiently competent to perform. 

“We recently acquired a specialist bike enabling disabled children with spina bifida and autism to participate and work with their able-bodied peers.

“For the children it’s an incredible experience. They get the opportunity to travel around the country and abroad to perform.”

LNPS Managing Director Paul Cooper said: “We are absolutely delighted to be sponsoring such a great local charity. The skills the riders acquire during their training and performances are incredibly impressive and transformational.

"The helmets we are funding will help to keep them safe while on their motorbikes. We are proud to be involved with such a unique and world-renowned organisation.”

The help from LNPS complements the ‘Buy a Bike campaign’ launched by TV Motorbike adventurer Charley Boorman to fundraise for 18 new motorbikes.

About the The Imps

For over 50 years The Imps have performed around the world to millions of people.

Regular appearances on prime-time television and displays at major events such as The Nova Scotia Tattoo, Canada, The Norwegian Military Tattoo, Norway and The Edinburgh Military Tattoo have secured a reputation for excellence.

Extraordinary discipline and incredible teamwork enable the Imps to deliver shows comprising complex ‘cross-overs’ requiring split-second timing, breath-taking fire jumps and visually stunning pyramids of red tunics – all served up with a dash of humour and aided by the spell-binding mini Imp mascots.

The ‘IMPS’ is dedicated to educating children through a disciplined, dynamic and challenging programme of activities with a world-famous motorcycle display team at its heart.

From the sound of revving engines to the awe of a billowing fire jump and the suspense of a multiple motorcycle combination ‘cross-over’ routine, the Imps will have you mesmerised by an unmissable display of discipline and skill. The youngest performer is just five years old.

The Imps Motorcycle Display Team, noted for its impeccable smart red tunics and highly disciplined spectacular show, originated in the 1970s from The Hackney Adventure Holiday Project – a charity founded by Roy Pratt MBE that provided holidays in the country for under privileged young people.

Some of the children found a dysfunctional old ‘motorbike’ – one thing led to another and a motorcycle display team, uniquely comprising young people aged six to sixteen, emerged.


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Source: LNPS press release