Over 15,000 people are set to attend a memorial event for tragic film star Paul Walker organised by a Royston car club.

The Royston Modified car club decided to hold a memorial cruise to honour Fast and Furious star Walker, who died two weeks ago in a car accident.

Though they expected it to be a small affair, news of the rally spread via social media, and now over 15,000 people have pledged to attend via the group’s Facebook page.

Having initially planned to hold the cruise locally, organiser Darren Bull said it has got so large that it will now take place at the Santa Pod raceway in Northamptonshire on Saturday, January 18.

Mr Bull said: “Paul was an idol to me and others in the modified car community, I think everyone on the scene has been influenced by him in one way or another. When I heard he had died I was devastated.

“I thought it would be nice to do something in his memory and raise a bit of money for his charity, Reach Out World Wide.

“I got in touch with a few other local car clubs, and we thought we might get 2,000-3,000 cars turning up, but it’s just grown and grown, I’ve been getting calls from all over the country and from Europe. We’ve now got 140 different clubs attending.”

Walker, 40, had played the role of Brian O’Connor in five films in the Fast and Furious franchise, which focuses on street racing in America. He was filming the latest installment of the series when he died.

Mr Bull hopes the rally will be fitting tribute to the stars life, and hopes to raise a lot of money for Reach Out World Wide, which helps victims of natural disasters.

He said: “Santa Pod have been great in that they’re letting us hire the track free of charge, which means every penny we take can go to the charity.

“We’re just finalising the schedule for the day at the moment, but it should be a brilliant occasion.”

For more details, log on to www.facebook.com/RMCC.UK.