MORE than 30 warm hearted bikers donned the leathers and mounted up to escort Courtney Carter to her Prom Night.
When 16 year old Courtney decided that bullies would not stop her attending the school prom her Mum Rachel asked her partner, John “Scruff” Southern, if he and a couple of friends would ride his bike in front of the car as escort to the Statham Lodge Hotel at Lymm for an unusual entrance.
After posting his request on a bikers’ Facebook page the response was immediate and overwhelming and John lined up with more than 30 bikers at the Coach and Horses pub, Warrington to lead a very noisy cavalcade through the town in sweltering temperatures.
Courtney, who was diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder at the age of four had a difficult school life, which was exacerbated once she went to high school. She became a target for bullies who wouldn’t accept her differences and she was verbally abused which made her feel “worthless”.
The bullying continued for five years and caused the High School pupil to suffer from extreme stress and anxiety. Courtney began to self harm and was prone to suicidal thoughts.
From Year Seven she was adamant that she would not go to the prom evening but a month before the big night she decided that she was not going to let the bullies rob her of the chance to party and wear a beautiful gown.
She joined a gym and began to lose weight and felt better about herself and when she arrived at the ball, like a modern day Cinderella, every person there was amazed by the roaring entrance, with all the leather clad bikers revving their powerful engines and sounding their horns.
Courtney had a fantastic evening and danced all night.
