ASYLUM seekers in Pendle have been given a new lease of life after being provided with bicycles to help them get around the borough.

The donation by the Probation Service is part of a repair and recycling scheme carried out among offenders on probation at its workshop in Pendle.

Bicycles recovered by the police in the Pennine Division which are not claimed are now passed to the community service section to be recycled for charity.

Members of the Building Bridges Refugees and Asylum Seekers Support Group (Pendle) received 15 bicycles at the drop-in centre in Nelson.

The Probation Service is also looking for other charities who need bikes to spread the benefit of the scheme and for anyone who has an unwanted bicycle which they could collect and renovate.

Moira Ormerod of Pendle's Refugees and Asylum Seekers Support Group said: "The bikes will make a huge difference for refugees and asylum seekers in Brierfield in getting to college and the drop-in centre in Nelson.

"Asylum seekers receive less money than people on income support, which makes it difficult to afford bus fares, so we are very grateful to the Probation Service for providing the bikes."

Geraldine Martin, community service manager for Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, said: "The police said we could take all the bikes and restore them and use them to benefit the local community. It's all part of working with offenders in their community and them repaying their debt to the community in which they offended."

Any charity wanting to find out more about the scheme or anyone who has a bicycle to be collected should contact 01282 615155 or 01282 425854.