Yorkshire seeks Tour de France race volunteers

Image caption, Volunteers would act as marshals on the race route and help with tourists

Thousands of volunteers are being recruited to help out on the Yorkshire leg of the Tour de France in 2014.

Tourist authority Welcome to Yorkshire (WtY) said the idea was based on the 70,000 "Games Makers" who helped run the London Olympics.

WtY chief executive Gary Verity said that 2,500 people had already volunteered via their website.

Leeds will host the start of the race, the Grand D茅part, on 5 July 2014. The event will spend two days in Yorkshire.

Mr Verity said he hoped the volunteers, called Le Tour Makers, would line the route as the race made its way through Yorkshire.

He added: "We need several thousand marshals to help the Grand D茅part go smoothly and welcome the millions of visitors who will come to Yorkshire."

WtY claimed the event would be worth well over 拢100m to the Yorkshire economy.