Bikes abandoned at hospital donated to charity

The charity fixes bikes and gives them to people across Bournemouth and Southampton

Bicycles that have been abandoned at a hospital will be repaired and donated to the community.

About 19 bikes had been left in sheds at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital for more than a year.

They will be taken to a workshop run by the New Forest Bike Project (NFBP), which refurbishes unwanted bicycles.

Volunteers will restore them, before giving them to organisations like schools, police or other charities.

The bicycles had been dumped at the hospital site in Bournemouth for more than 12 months

Based in New Milton, Hampshire, the charity gives the revamped bikes away for free or asks for a donation to cover costs.

"We want to help people stay on the road, ride safely and encourage sustainability," an NFBP spokesperson added.

Alison Walters, University Hospitals Dorset's travel team administrator, said it would help free up room for hospital employees' bicycles.

"Many of our staff travel on bikes, so finding a new home for these abandoned ones means we have more space available so new cyclists can make the change to a sustainable mode of travel," she said.