Keeping your bike safe in Westcliff

More than 50 residents in Westcliff have attended bike summer holiday sessions to get free kit and learn about how to keep their bike safe, as part of our safer streets project.

Safer Streets launched in 2019 after the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside (OPCC) awarded us over £600,000. This has been spent on improving the Westcliff area, helping local residents to feel safer in their home and community.

Three full days of bike sessions have been held at The Arc in Westcliff so far, with staff and volunteers from Ongo, along with the neighbourhood Police Officer, Richard Long on hand to help.

Safety checks and minor repairs were carried out too, meaning some bikes that were unusable beforehand were safe to ride again

Stacey Freeman, who attended one of the sessions said: “I am local to the area and came to make sure my bike was safe to ride. I registered my bike too in case it was stolen, so that I would have more of a chance of getting it back.

“I think these types of events are brilliant. They help bring the community together and hopefully prevent crimes from happening.”

We have around 500 bike register kits in total to use over the next year, to ensure as many as possible are registered on the estate. This is due to acquisitive crime being so high, and the increasing number of people relying on bikes for work transportation and leisure activities.

Information on ‘Not in Our Community’, an OPPC funded project that helps educate children and parents on county lines and other emerging dangers have been given out at the sessions.

John Cavill, at Ongo said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with the success and take up of our bike sessions. We’ve been able to give out so many kits and help people protect their bike.

“It’s always great to get more people into The Arc, so we can engage with them and let them know about the other things we have going on. From employment support, training, events and more.

“If you live in the area and you want to get involved or learn more on protecting your bike, just get in touch.

“I’d like to give a big thank you to local volunteers, Matt and Mark, who attended to help fix bikes and ensure that the day ran smoothly, and to everyone else for making them so popular. “

To find out more about The Arc and the summer holiday sessions they have going on, follow them on social media or head to: www.arcwestcliff.co.uk.