THE Wheels Festival stepped up a gear as thousands of people enjoyed a spectacular second day of the event basking in glorious sunshine.

Monster trucks again tore along the beach, wowing the crowds gathered on the promenade as they jumped over the sand in a series of metal crunching shows throughout the day.

The beach arena also played host to some adrenaline-fuelled quad biking – with one of the world’s most prolific stunt riders - Matt Coulter, the Kangaroo Kid, featuring for the first time.

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His heart-stopping jumps had spectators gasping as he seemed to defy gravity by clearing a row of monster trucks.

See all the pictures from today here

Demonstrations from the army with a range of military vehicles completed an impressive programme on the seafront, which was treated to summer weather and saw many tucking into ice creams and soaking up the sun.

But it was on East Overcliff Drive where petrolheads were getting their biggest kicks, with the road transformed into a race track complete with chicanes and chequered flags.

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A plethora of cars through the ages took to the demonstration track before the stars of the show arrived – the supercars.

Making their way from the exhibition area at the BIC, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and others with monster-size engines rolled through the streets to the beginning of the course.

The Daily Echo was given a lift in a Mercedes AMG GTS and as the vehicles fired up their engines in the showroom driver George Armstrong described it as a “symphony of horse power”.


“Some cars are emotional and others are rational,” he explained. “These are definitely emotional cars.”

Such was the demand to watch cars zip along the track; police had to delay the start to deal with ‘crowd control issues’.

And stunt driver Paul Swift, who had earlier shown off his remarkable parking skills as he skidded into tight spaces on the demonstration straight, completed the day’s proceedings with the most remarkable feat of the festival yet - driving the length of East Overcliff on just two wheels.

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Meanwhile, down the road at Southbourne Grove, a fringe event organised by Bournemouth Coastal BID saw freestyle mountain bikers, supercar displays and an array of family activities.

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