Car event to be held in memory of man killed outside Bodmin nightclub

The family of a man who was killed outside a nightclub in Bodmin are hosting a fundraiser in honour of Michael Riddiough-Allen's passion for cars.

Michael Riddiough-Allen, 32, who was an enthusiast for cars, rugby and surfing, was stabbed outside the Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin on 30 April 2023.

The latest event hosted by his family, who also set up MIKES Trust to prevent knife crime following his death, will take place this weekend.

Kevin Allen, father of Michael Riddiough-Allen, said:

"He loved cars because of the car crew he did things with. It's primarily a reflection on that passion but also a reflection on the value of the community and friendship. After Mike died, as a family we were in a hideous state. Very quickly it became obvious to us there was this enormous ground-swell of support from Mike's friends and they became our friends.

"It was seeing those people that made us want to build events that reflects his passion but also theirs.

"We came up with the idea of MIKES Motor Mania last year to celebrate Mike and campaign for the change in attitude everyone needs to make around the casual carrying of a knife. This change will come from education and community,and this forms the backbone of all our events. Yes a community can come together in pain, but it should also come together in joy.

"We have been able to make this upcoming event even bigger and better than last year, we have corporate partners and car clubs attending, including Ocean BMW, it’ll be everything Mike loved and I’m so humbled that it’ll be in honour of him. There will be hundreds of people there to celebrate him and raise awareness on the cost of knife crime, it’s what he would have wanted."

MIKES Trust have recently hosted a month of community events, youth group involvement and knife crime awareness talks in Mike's memory in May.

Kevin Allen said the month has been a success:

"We don't need to terrify them, we just need to enrich them to keep them safe so the whole thing around knife crime, it's an undercurrent certainly when we're dealing with the youth, and it's a difficult thing to talk about.

"We don't mention knife crime once. We don't need to, if they're there and they're safe."

MIKES Motor Mania will take place at Spitfire Park, Perranporth, 11am, on Sunday 23rd June with free activities and suggested donations which would be used to provide opportunities and education to young people in an attempt to tackle the issue of knife crime at the root.

You can find more information here.

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