Enthusiastic youngsters at two town schools donned their cycle helmets and got to grips with road safety.

Pupils at St Peter's First School, in Rock Hill, and Meadows First have been taking part in a cycling training programme, under the expert tuition of Worcestershire County Council's area road safety officer John Dakin. The Safer Routes to School campaign gives youngsters the opportunity to learn basic road safety skills and the meaning of different signs.

Mr Dakin said: "At this stage it does not prepare the cyclist for the road but it does improve their co-ordination and balance skills. I am very proud of the children. Over half gained full marks in the theory test and all the children passed the course."

Cycle training has been taking place at schools for many years but as traffic reaches crisis point around many of the schools in the district, Mr Dakin is going for the big push on safety.