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Great photo showing officers in Coventry donating several bikes to a local charity.

Officers in Coventry have given a local charity a push start by donating 16 bikes to young people enrolled on an education and training course.

PC Antony Coy from the St Michael's policing team visited staff and young people at the city's 'Vanishing Barriers Project' to hand the bikes over to young people taking part on a road user course.

From their Hillfields base, Vanishing Barriers work in partnership with Motorvate UK to offer road user driving, motorcycle and pushbike training packages to young people aged 15 and 16 years old.

For the past 10 years they have offered 'hands on' training to over 3000 young people from schools across the city in projects ranging from construction to horticulture.

PC Coy and colleagues from the St Michael's neighbourhood policing team work closely with the group and have witnessed the positive impact they bring to the Hillfields area.

"We are delighted that we are able to hand over these bikes to such a worthy recipient and help staff to continue to offer these training courses. Throughout our community there are examples of young people who have gone on to full time employment thanks to the skills learnt on these schemes."

The bikes donated were seized by police as part of investigations into crimes ranging from theft to burglary. After being unable to identify and return them to their rightful owners, officers looked for suitable groups in the area to donate the bikes to.

Phil Moodie, Director of Vanishing Barriers said: "Following the donation the young people repaired the bikes to a high standard in order for all bikes to become roadworthy."

"The course also promotes cycle safety and security and includes importance messages around cycle maintenance and road safety awareness.

"Motorvate, Vanishing Barriers and all of the young participants involved would like to thank PC Anthony Coy and all of St Michael's policing team for their support. We look forward to working together on future projects."

Officers are once again taking the opportunity to remind cyclists to improve their bike's security from the comfort of their homes by logging the bike's details on www.immobilise.com Cyclists who do not have access to the internet can also engrave the frame with their postcode – many cycle shops can provide this service at a limited cost.

Officers are issuing the additional following safety advice to increase bike security;

• Never leave your cycle on view unattended and unlocked, even if only for a short time while you pop into a shop. • Cycles should not be left unattended for long periods or overnight. • Remember when securing your cycle with a lock to make sure it is attached to an immovable object – one that cannot be lifted over the locking device. • Use two locks wherever possible, and try to lock the wheels and the frame to an immovable point.