AN innovative project is giving Banbury school leavers confidence as well as helping the environment.

Since February, about 80 bikes have been collected from Alkerton Household Waste Recycling Centre near Banbury to be worked on by young people.

Visitors to the Banbury Hub are taught to strip bikes down and repair and rebuild them for their own use.

Cary Johnston, a community worker at the hub, said: “It gives them confidence, helps their self-esteem and engages them in a positive activity.”

For information about the scheme, call 01865 328440.