What is a bike train and why do kids love them?

"I like cycling because you can get fresh air and exercise," said 10-year-old Hattie.

She regularly rides in the Bury Bike Train in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, a supported cycle project to get young people to and from school safely.

Volunteers ride a pre-planned route with children and their parents joining in on their own bikes along the way... and then cycling back at the end of the school day.

"We meet up at bike train on a bridge, and then we cycle to school, and we have my school and a different school, so we drop off them first, and then we keep cycling," Hattie said.

Libby Ranzetta is involved in several peddle-related projects in the town.

Along with her eco carrier business, she is part of the BSE Rickshaw project and now the Bury Bike Train.

"We wanted it to be like Barcelona where there's so many children riding to school that the city sort of stops while this great phalanx of humanity goes past and it's absolutely wonderful," she said.

The idea is garnering support in other towns and cities around the world as well, with a recent BBC Podcast exploring its popularity.

The Bury Bike Train has 20 young people regularly using it across three routes, plus parents who ride along, but it is hoping to expand further when the autumn term starts.

Maria Kemble, executive head at St Edmunds Catholic Primary School, said: "The children really enjoy it, and it's a great way to start the day; they come in having had a bit of exercise... I just wish that more schools could do it."

The project is also one of the four finalists for the BBC Radio Suffolk Make a Difference Awards in the environmental category.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Ipswich in September.

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