Birstall off-road motorbike charity sees rise in mental health referrals

The Bumpy charity offers young people the chance to engage with motorcycling

A charity providing off-road motorcycle training to vulnerable young people says it has seen a rise in mental health referrals since the pandemic.

More than 100 young people attend sessions at Bumpy in Birstall, West Yorkshire, each week, the group says.

Many are referred to Bumpy - or Birstall Urban Motorcycle Project for Youth - by social services or police.

Project manager Carolyne Kenzitt said the visitors found motorcycling helped them "empty their heads".

Ms Kenzitt said: "We're seeing an increase in young people referred, from the pandemic, hanging over.

"They've basically shut themselves away, shut themselves in their bedrooms, don't want to engage with anyone. They don't want to engage with friends.

"Hopefully we can engage with them around the passion of motorcycling and give them that opportunity to forget problems that they've got while they're here riding round the track."

More than 100 young people attend the track each week

Scarlett said going to the track had boosted her confidence

Scarlett and William are regulars at the track, and both are autistic and have ADHD.

Scarlett's parents said she was shutting herself in her bedroom, refusing to socialise and was being bullied.

It was after she got into a fight she was referred to Bumpy by West Yorkshire Police.

She said: "Normally, I'm really socially awkward. I remember the first time I was on the track, I was very quiet and not really speaking.

"Then I started to talk more. It made me way more confident than I was, honestly."

Her father Mark said: "From when she started to now, there's been a complete 360-degree turnaround.

"She's got loads of confidence. It's given her the ability to deal with problems in a positive way."

William trains at Bumpy, and said it helped clear his head

William added: "It's hard to describe because when you're riding on a motorbike, it's just like everything goes away, all your thoughts and everything and you're just riding and having fun."

Bumpy was set up to create a space for young people to ride bikes legally, rather than illegally on the streets.

The charity said it often supported some of the most vulnerable children in West Yorkshire, who could be at risk of being drawn into crime.

Sgt Claire Thornton, from West Yorkshire Police, said: "It feels like it's a really important time.

"There's a lot of things going on at the moment, not just in Leeds but across the whole of the country.

"Doing things like this at Bumpy, it stops the children getting involved with crime, with anti-social behaviour.

"It doesn't actually take that long. If you just put that bit of investment into a child at an early stage, it totally changes their future."