PRISONERS at HMP Littlehey are repaying their debt to the community by refurbishing bikes for charity.

Cambridgeshire police has donated 25 bikes to the prison that haven been recovered or stolen but not identified by their owners and prisoners have painted them red, white and blue to mark the Jubilee.

The scheme was set up by chief constable Simon Parr and Littlehey governor David Taylor.

Chief constable Simon Parr said: “The aim of this venture is for the prisoners to contribute towards the restorative justice agenda and provide a service to the community.

“We donate ‘run down’ cycles to HMP Littlehey which have been recovered but no-one has identified them.

“The prisoners then refurbish them and they are donated to charitable causes agreed by the force and HMP Littlehey.

“The cycles are donated to worthy individuals and charitable causes such as victims of crime and disadvantage families who can’t get their children to school.

“By supplying projects with these cycles it gives them a really good starting point, for example the ‘Bike Bank’ in South Cambridgeshire which provide bicycles to young people who are not in education or employment, who are socially isolated and would benefit from cycling for health reasons.”

Mr Taylor added: “This is a really good example of partnership working. It provides real work and qualifications for young offenders to assist with their resettlement on release and also enables them to provide some payback to society when cycles are donated to worthy community causes.”