Young people convicted of bike or vehicle theft offences are now repairing and maintaining stolen pushbikes before donating them back to victims of the crime.

Stolen cycles which have been seized by Sutton Police and unclaimed by the owner have been donated to the Bike Project, in collaboration with the Bike Clinique, for the initiative.

The people involved learn bike basics, maintenance and repair, and how to fix one to a ‘roadworthy’ state for whose who have had theirs stolen in separate incidents.

Sutton Police Superintendent Mark Lawrence said: “This is a really exciting project which is already proving its worth.

“Keeley [Wilcox] and her colleague at the Sutton Youth Offending Team [YOT] have done a tremendous job in bringing the project to life, and it’s great to see that it’s already making a positive difference.”

Those who participated are on a court order with the Sutton YOT and the project has been held over a series of sessions.

One victim who received an upcycled model said: “A big thank you to the Bike Project for helping me get back into a better position after my bike was stolen.

“It’s a really valuable initiative and I can go back to using a bike to get to work.”

The Bike Project was organised by repatriation coordinator for the Sutton YOT Keeley Wilcox, in partnership with both the Bike Clinique and the Metropolitan Police.