Oliver Coppard launches active travel challenge for primary pupils

Mayor Oliver Coppard said active travel was a priority for South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire's mayor has announced a cycling and walking challenge for primary school pupils, as part of the region's active travel initiative.

Oliver Coppard said Walk and Wheel, launched in Barnsley, would take place across the county.

Former Olympic cyclist Ed Clancy, also South Yorkshire's Active Travel Commissioner, was at the announcement.

The initiative, launched at Joseph Locke Primary School, will run from 17 to 28 June, the mayor said.

"We need to make sure everyone in South Yorkshire has freedom and choice about how to travel and move, every day," Mr Coppard said.

"That's important at every age and stage of life, but nowhere is it more important than with our kids at school.

"Active travel is central to my vision of a better-connected South Yorkshire, but we simply must create a new generation who see the alternatives to just jumping in the car as an obvious first choice."

Former Olympic cyclist Ed Clancy is South Yorkshire's Active Travel Commissioner

Labour mayor Mr Coppard, who was re-elected earlier this month, said the scheme formed part of South Yorkshire Combined Authority's (SYMCA) priority to make the county "the best place in the country to walk, wheel and cycle for our children".

The SYMCA has secured £4.86m from the government to promote active travel.

The challenge coincides with Walk to School Week, organised by charity Living Streets, which said it was encouraging families to travel more actively, meaning "healthier and happier children [and] fewer cars outside school gates".

Jim Shaw, of Living Streets, said: "Getting out of the front door in the morning with kids can be hectic, so it's no surprise that parents say a lack of time stops them walking to school.

"However, walking the last 10 minutes can still provide families with all those health and happiness benefits in the same time that they would have been sitting in traffic."