COMMUTERS are being urged to leave their cars behind and "leg it" to work this month.

Employers are also encouraged to join a growing band of people who are walking or cycling to work for Leg It Day on June 13.

Staff from Durham County Council, the Land Registry, Durham Police, Sainsbury's at the Arnison Centre, Durham, and the University Hospital of North Durham are all taking part.

Anyone who cycles into work will be rewarded with a barbecue breakfast and, if spotted by radio station Century FM, they will be offered prizes, including holidays and sports equipment.

The breakfast will be held on a pedestrian and cycle link between County Hall, at Aykley Heads, and Newton Hall, near Durham, which will be used for the first time that day.

Through the summer, the county council's On Yer Bike campaign will focus on Chester-le-Street, Derwentside and Sedgefield.

There will be a series of cycle rides, beginning on June 23, with two guided rides to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The first will leave from Chester-le-Street Civic Centre and the other from Shotley Bridge picnic area, in Derwent Walk.

Four Lanchester Show rides are planned for July 6 and an On Yer Bike peddling picnic will journey from Spennymoor Leisure Centre to Auckland Castle, on July 21.

To book a place, call Elaine Wood on 0191-383 3745.