AROUND 3,500 schoolchildren in Devon are to benefit from Bikeability cycle training over the next few months.

Devon County Council has successfully secured £140,000 of funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) to provide the training in the county by August. More than 7,400 children in Devon have taken part in Bikeability during the past year.

Since 2009, Devon County Council has successfully bid for more than £1.7 million to deliver cycle training in Devon. Schoolchildren who take part are given real cycling experience and skills to equip them to confidently deal with traffic on short journeys, such as cycling to school.

The County Council will be bidding to the DfT for more than £1 million to deliver Bikeability from September 2016 to 2020. Devon will aim to train nearly 10,000 children in Devon in 2016/17.

Cllr Stuart Hughes, DCC’s cabinet member with responsibility for cycling, said: “Tens of thousands of children across Devon have benefited from Bikeability training over the past nine years and our most recent casualty data suggests child cycle casualties appear to be decreasing.

“We’re one of the biggest providers of Bikeability in the country and I’m pleased that we have again successfully been awarded funding from the DfT to help train a further 3,500 children over the next few months.

To book Bikeability courses in your school or for information on the next Bikeability Instructor course please see the website: http://www.cycledevon.info/ .