THE FINAL wish of a dying Forest man to hear the roar of motorbikes came true – with the help of your local Forest papers, the Review and The Forester.

Driving instructor Mike Webb rang the Review on Thursday afternoon hoping that we could help fulfil the wish of his dad Rob.

Staff at the offices in Lydney contacted some local bikers and within a few hours the sound of bikes was being heard outside Rob’s window in Fancy Hill, Parkend.

Just 10 minutes after the final tribute, Rob passed away with his wife, son and granddaughter at his side.

In an emotional message to the group of mates who meet regularly to ride, Mike said they would never know how much it meant to the family and how it made Rob’s passing easier to bear.

Heather Wood, the sales manager for the Review and The Forester, took Mike’s call and immediately got onto one of the riders.

They have asked to remain anonymous but say they had to act when they heard the request.

One of the four bikers, who all from the Forest, said: “We didn’t know how long Rob had so we just got together as many as we could and went to Parkend.

“We rode up and down outside the house and made a bit of noise.

“It was about 5.30pm and 10 minutes after we left I had a message from Mike saying his dad has passed away.

“It was a pretty emotional moment and it shows how important it is not to put things off.

“We’re glad we made Rob’s final minutes a bit happier and that we helped the family at a difficult time.”

Rob, who was 90, was an avid biker and a keen grasstrack rider but epilepsy caused an accident at work some 60 years ago meant that he could no longer ride.

Mike added: “I said to dad that I will get some bikes to come by.

‘‘Mum, who is 88, was always on the bike with dad and she got excited when she knew, saying ‘the bikes are coming’.

“You could hear a bike coming into the village, then another and another.

‘‘The village was humming. They went up and down the road.”

After they left, Mike’s daughter was with her grandfather: “She held dad’s hand, and he passed away.

‘‘You could not write it better.”