Free park bikes moved after spate of vandalism

The team behind a scheme which allows children to practice cycling skills in a safe environment has had to move its bikes from public view after instances of vandalism.

The Health Improvement Commission's BeActive team offers free balance bikes for youngsters to use in Guernsey parks via its Bike Box initiative.

Beau Sejour park has recently faced problems with the scheme however, including bikes being taken, "pulled apart" and abandoned.

Active travel officer at the commission, Amy Woollaston, told BBC Radio Guernsey: "It seems like early evening or possibly later into the evening that older children are taking them.

"They don't seem to be riding them and putting them back, they are pulling them apart which is why we used the word 'vandalism' on this occasion."

Last month, the doors of the bike shed at Beau Sejour Leisure Centre were broken into and one of the bikes was stolen.

Guernsey's Health Improvement Commission said tyres on two other bikes had also been let down.

Staff initially tried to change the times the bikes were available, locking them up at 18:30 BST and unlocking them at 07:30 the next day.

Woollaston said the problems continued though, with concerns the bikes would no longer be safe for children to use.

"The damage continued to happen during the day so the decision that we've come to now is to not have bikes in the box at all at Beau Sejour," Wollaston said, adding the neighborhood policing team had been "really supportive".

She also noted the team had put "a couple of bikes behind the reception desk in the leisure centre" so parents can still request them for children when they need.

Wollaston added: "It's a real shame.

"I think at the Beau Sejour location in particular we're trying to reach out to families who either don't own bikes for their young children or who own a bike but can't get it to the park and don't have any decent outdoor space themselves.

"It was just providing that opportunity for everybody to have the chance to get out over the summer and get going and start learning to ride a bike."

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