EFFORTS to improve safety for young cyclists and reduce bike thefts in Hartlepool are being stepped up with two half-term events.
Postcode security stamping, free safety checks and advice will be on offer to youngsters who bring their bikes to the Safe and Secure cycling sessions.
Statistics show there are about 500 cycle thefts in Hartlepool every year and over the past five years more than 80 people have been injured while riding a bike.
PC Colin Hopkins, Hartlepool Police crime prevention officer, said: "Too many cycles are stolen in Hartlepool.
"By organising these events we hope to markedly reduce the number of thefts and raise awareness of both security and safety among parents and children."
The events will be held at the Friarage Youth Centre, on the Headland, from 10am to noon on Tuesday, and Owton Manor Community Centre, in Wynyard Road, from 10am until noon on Thursday.
Anyone who attends will be entered into a competition to win a mountain bike.
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