THE first storage docks designed specifically for motorcycles have been installed in the UK.

The three docks were installed in Chelmsford last week and are now on trial for the next three months. Two have been placed at Fairfield Road Long Stay car park off Coval Lane and one is at Parkway Short Stay surface car park.

The system gives bikers a place to lock up their motorcycle and riding gear so they don’t have to carry it around all day.

Toni Impieri, owner and marketing director of MotoParking, said: ‘I was on a skiing holiday in Italy three years ago when I started speaking to a guy in the bar who told me about the idea he had for storing your gear. As a biker, I thought it was a fantastic idea - you don’t want to carry your gear around with you all the time.’

Another premise behind the idea is to encourage bikers to wear more riding gear, knowing that there’s a place for them to leave it.

Chelmsford MP, Simon Burns, worked on the project with Impieri for almost eight months to make the idea a reality.

MotoParking is now in negotiation with where else the docks could be installed to be convenient for bikers.