New Yorkshire bike-borrowing venues unveiled

The scheme was inspired by the Tour de France and Tour de Yorkshire in the county

A free scheme to allow children to borrow bikes set up in the aftermath of the 2014 Tour de France in Yorkshire is to open eight new venues.

The new bike libraries are to open around Yorkshire bringing the total in the county to 31.

The project collects unwanted bikes, repairs them and makes them available for free but they must be returned.

Bikes have been loaned out 13,300 times and about 3,500 bikes have been donated since 2015, said organisers.

The scheme was launched following the Tour de France and Tour de Yorkshire road races in the county.

The new sites:

West Yorkshire - Addingham, Halifax, Middleton and New Wortley

South Yorkshire - Barnsley and Penistone

North Yorkshire - Scarborough and Catterick Garrison

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "I am thrilled to see how successful the Bike Libraries have become since the very first one opened in Leeds last year, and I hope they will continue to inspire and excite young people across the county."

The Yorkshire Bank bike libraries is a three-year project between Welcome to Yorkshire's cycling initiative, Cycle Yorkshire, and the bank.