A SENIOR German politician claims his counterparts in the North-East’s only cycling demonstration town should do more to make life easier for bike riders.

Wolfgang Golasowski, Bremen’s vice-senator for transport and the environment, has called for Darlington borough councillors to create cycle paths on major roads.

Mr Golasowski made his comments when seven Darlington girls visited Bremen for the Beauty and the Bike film and photography project, which aims to get more young women cycling by documenting their experiences.

The group is hoping Mr Golasowski, or one of his colleagues, will visit Darlington and speak with councillors.

The German city is extremely cycle-orientated, with a cycling culture dating back to the Seventies, cycle paths on virtually every major route, and many off-road cycle pathways.

The girls talked to Mr Golasowski about cycling in Darlington, which is the only town in the UK to have won both cycling demonstration and sustainable transport status.

Harri Endersby, 16, told Mr Golasowski: “On our roads, we have very, very few cycle paths. You have to cycle on the roads with cars, which can be a little bit scary.”

Mr Golasowski said it sounded like councillors needed the courage to create cycle paths on major routes as the first step in establishing a cycling culture in the town.

“If you have a town like Darlington with 100,000 inhabitants and a good road system, it should be possible to have a cycling culture. You need people who will fight for it and they need spirit from other people,” he said.

“Every politician should use a bicycle. He will very quickly realise what is going on.

“You also need a pilot project.

If they took one major road and said, ‘if we organise that as a trial, what would happen?’ that could change things.

“There also has to be an education for car drivers.”

Richard Grassick, who organised the Bremen trip, said: “What was very clear to me is that main roads need cycle paths. All the girls say that as well.”