HUNDREDS of motorbike enthusiasts flocked to the seafront yesterday to admire a a huge range of pre-1915 veteran vehicles.

The Pioneer Run, founded by the Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club, celebrated its 80th anniversary on Sunday morning.

Hundreds of pre-1915 vehicles paraded along Brighton seafront and attracted crowds of enthusiasts both young and old.

Participants left Epsom in Surrey at 8am on their vintage two and three-wheelers and ended up in Madeira Drive in Brighton at about 10am.

The finish has always been in Madeira Drive, but one-off finishes have happened in Peacehaven and Paris in previous years

The Pioneer Run continues to be the world’s largest gathering of veteran two and three wheel vehicles.

Each year more than 370 entries travel from Epsom to Brighton, regardless of the weather.

To ensure that all machines taking part are genuine veterans, a register of all such vehicles was started in 1938.

Only those machines on the register became eligible to enter the event.

A “dating committee” was formed to check the authenticity of machines going on the register. The Pioneer Register quickly became a major information source for pre-1915 motorcycles and other vehicles taking part in the popular event.