A COMMUNITY project is holding a free cycle safety session to help keep children safe on their bikes over winter.

Lottery-funded Leigh Neighbours is hosting Be Seen, Be Safe, which offers free services and useful gadgets to improve a cyclist’s visibility for other road users.

Together with Wigan-based social enterprise, Gearing Up, Leigh Neighbours will host a free event for cyclists of all ages to promote safer cycling, tackling bike theft and provide advice on how to look after their bikes.

The event will be held at the playground at Sacred Heart RC Primary School on Windermere Road in Leigh after school on Friday, October 18.

Leigh Neighbours board member John Gredecki said: “Leigh Neighbours is pleased to support community safety initiatives such as Be Seen, Be Safe.

"Children can become very vulnerable on the roads in winter, so it’s important they understand all aspects of road safety including how to maintain their bike so it doesn’t let them down when it matters most.

"Just like cars, bikes need to be made ready for adverse weather conditions so this free event is a great opportunity to have their bike prepared for winter and will give parents some peace of mind.”

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Be Seen Be Safe is the latest in a series of free community events run by Leigh Neighbours to meet the needs of residents.

When Leigh Neighbours was originally awarded £1m of Big Local National Lottery money back in 2011, they carried out extensive consultation in the community to find out how and where residents wanted the money invested.

Community safety is one of the main priorities with others include tackling grot spots, improving housing quality and building community cohesion.

Over the past six years, the charity has made some headway in tackling these issues, in partnership with other agencies, charities and community interest companies.

For more information about Leigh Neighbours visit www.lnpb.org.uk.