Discarded bikes rebuilt by prisoners to help local school pupils

Serving prisoners and people on community payback orders are refurbishing discarded bikes to distribute to local schools.

The initiative developed between the Perth and Kinross Community Justice and Safety Partnership and the Scottish Prison Service has involved serving prisoners at HM Prison Perth and people carrying out unpaid work orders, working together to salvage, repair and refurbish bikes collected from Pitlochry Recycling Centre.

Since last year, around 250 bikes have been restored by inmates at HMP Perth, which have then either been sold by local social enterprise or donated to families.

Offender outcomes officer Sean Malone collects disused bikes from Pitlochry Recycling Centre and takes them to HMP Perth, where a team of 15 repair them.

Prison offender outcomes officer Sean Malone STV News

“The bikes that are coming in have been left out in gardens. They have been left to rot, basically. They’re sort of rusty. There are parts missing from them, etc.”

He says the bikes are then taken into the prison for what they describe as “a full MOT”. They are completely dismantled, scrubbed and rebuilt piece by piece.

“You can see the bikes are coming in and the state of them to them going out; it’s night and day. Absolutely brilliant. They just look brand new.”

Bikes waiting for a new lease of life STV News

Sean says the prison’s Bicycle Mechanics Academy also serves as a mental health outlet and a pathway to a better future for people in the justice system.

“A lot of guys suffer from some sort of stress and anxiety,” he said. “This kind of thing really helps with that.

“It’s satisfaction for the guys, and they know they’re doing something for the community; going out to schools, kids are getting to use the bikes. Absolutely fantastic.”

As more than half of the bikes were for children and young people, these will now be made available to local schools to help pupils develop their cycling and road safety abilities in conjunction with the Council’s Bikeability project.

Scott Francis, founder of the Cycle Hub STV News

Many of the bikes are supplied by Dundee Cycle Hub, a social enterprise that collects unwanted cycles from recycling centres.

Founder Scott Francis said: “It’s something I hold close to my heart. We started with a few bikes in the garage in 2015, and it’s grown exponentially. We’re now at the point where we’re receiving 4,000 bikes a year.

“We’ve outgrown everything we had before. This is the next step to growing the project and getting more bikes out to the community.”

He says there is a shortage of trained bike mechanics in the industry at the moment.

Inmate refurbishing a bike in the prison workshop STV News

“We’re hopefully getting ex-offenders trained as mechanics who can come into the industry and continue working,” he added.

“They refurbish bikes to an incredible standard.”

Bailie Chris Ahern, chair of the Community Justice and Safety Partnership said: “The feedback from kids and families that received the bikes has been overwhelming. Some kids had never had a bike in their lives, and this was the first time they had one.

“This is a great example of how the Scottish Prison Service and the residents of Perth Prison and community payback participants with the unpaid work team can come together to repair and reuse unwanted bikes for communities.”

“The team are perfectly placed to make sure the refurbished bikes go to people who most need them.”

Councillor John Rebbeck, the Council’s Learning and Families Convener, said: “Being able to support schools’ efforts for pupils to develop their skills on two wheels at the same time as helping individuals develop practical, valuable and positive skills for life beyond prison is a great joint effort. We’re trying to encourage children in our schools towards active travel wherever possible, and I am delighted that this project is positively benefiting our communities.”

Tom Martin, head of offender outcomes at HMP Perth, said: “Our Bicycle Mechanics Academy provides individuals in our care with opportunities to develop new skills, build valuable mechanical knowledge and gain practical experience – helping to better prepare them for employment or further training on release from custody.

“A key aspect of the Academy is enabling individuals to make a positive contribution to their communities through a range of projects. We are therefore delighted to be involved in this initiative through the Community Justice and Safety Partnership and supporting local schools across Perth and Kinross.”