A FORMER White Helmet who couldn't bear to part with his Triumph motorbike after the display team was disbanded has spent more than £11,000 buying it back.

The Army put six of the motorcycles up for sale after the team was axed in August.

However, Corporal Aidy Mackie was so desperate to keep hold of his own motorcycle that he saw off rival bidders at an auction, paying £10,000 for the machine.

In total, with fees added, he paid £11,200.

The six bikes, three Triumph frames and boxes of spare parts sold for £70,000 in all.

Cpl Mackie, 31, said: "Because it was my bike, I wanted to keep it. I have ridden it for two years and it has never let me down.

"I maintained it and looked after it on a daily basis.

"When the bidding got to £9,000 I was a bit nervous, but I was delighted and relieved when the hammer fell on my bid of £10,000.

"It's not just for me but for my family as well. I bought it as an investment.

"I will ride it in private and take it to shows and exhibitions and things like that."

Cpl Mackie has spent 10 years in the Royal Corps of Signals. He said his uncle is a keen classic vehicle collector and he put forward some of the money to buy the bike.

The White Helmets - dubbed 'the Red Arrows on wheels' - thrilled crowds at country shows with their daredevil displays for 90 years

until they were disbanded this year.

Most of the 30 customised Triumph Bonneville T140 bikes used by the team were hand built in 1999 by LF Harris International of Newton Abbot, Devon, which bought the rights to Triumph.

All but six of them were returned to the manufacturer or given to sponsors.

Chaterhouse Auctioneers of Sherborne sold the six.

Two of them are known as trick bikes which were used for the display team's human pyramid stunt. They have no rear suspension and are rigid and sturdy.

The other four are more conventional. These bikes were used for acrobatic tricks, including jumping through a hoop of fire.

They sold for between £7,800 and £12,000 each.

A spokesman for Charterhouse Auctioneers said: "We are delighted with the outcome of the sale.

"These bikes are iconic machines that have been seen by hundreds of thousands of people. This sale really does represent the end of an era.

"It was a real privilege to have been able to sell them."