More than 700 primary school children and their families got on their bikes in Catterick Garrison in one of the biggest school cycling events in the country.

The aim of the event, on Friday, was to get people - particularly children - using their bikes.

More than £1m has been invested in bike routes around the Garrison.

North Yorkshire County Council got together with four primary schools in the Garrison - Le Cateau, Wavell Juniors, Hipswell and Carnagill - to organise the event.

After being hit by torrential rain for the past two years, organisers moved the event from July to April, and were rewarded with sunshine.

Richard Flinton, the county council’s director of business and environment services, said: “Catterick is an ideal place to have a bike day because of the large numbers of cycle routes around the Garrison.

“It is a chance to encourage youngsters to get on their bikes and have fun from an early age, and many of them brought their families along too.”

Road safety officer Hilary Bond, who organised the event, said: ”It’s been absolutely amazing, children came on bikes, trikes and scooters and brought their mums, dads and brothers and sisters along.

“We moved it to earlier in the year to encourage children to use their bikes through the summer and hopefully they will.

“This is a real lesson for life for them, it also keeps down the carbon footprint and means it’s safer round the school gates if there are less cars coming to school to drop children off.”

Graham Shepherd, headteacher of Le Cateau School said: “This is the third amazing year for the bike day.

“It’s a real boost because it helps promote our healthy schools initiative.

“A lot of children cycle already, because of the network of special routes around here.

“Because we have bike storage at the school, this really encourages them to get on their bikes more often. The county council donates £1 to school funds for each person cycling.

There was also a raffle with one child from each school winning a bike, sponsored by local bike shop Arthur Caygill.