MORE than 100 bikers have paid their last respects to a fellow motorcyclist described as a “free spirit”.

The members of the Boundary 500 Motorcycle Group yesterday joined the funeral cortege of Steve Futcher, who died recently from a heart attack.

Mr Futcher, known as Wolfie, was involved in the Boundary 500 events since the charity was set up three years ago to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance and Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice, Middlesbrough.

Mr Futcher’s wife, Linda, said his two passions were motorbikes and wolves. “He loved wolves, our house was full of ornaments of them,” she said. “Like them, he was a free spirit.”

Not long before his sudden death, 49-year-old Mr Futcher had turned his life around after losing his job and the theft of his prized Kawasaki ZZ-R100.

After settling into a new firm, he bought a motorbike just four days before his death at work.

Mrs Futcher said they had been looking forward to spending their tenth wedding anniversary this summer in a wolf sanctuary in Cornwall.

She said: “He was a wonderful man, very caring, he loved all the children and grandchildren.

The bikers’ convoy joined the cortege near the Futchers’ home, in Redcar, and travelled with a police escort to St Bede’s Chapel, Middlesbrough.

Brian Laverick, founder of Boundary 500, said the charity had raised £192,000 in under three years.

“Wolfie was a very warm and friendly man. You could have really engaging conversation with him as he was a great listener,” he said.