Father's anger at school bike ban

The father of a child at a Devon school is fuming at the school's refusal to allow bicycles on the premises.

The government announced a new initiative on Wednesday to get more children walking, cycling and taking the bus to school in an attempt to cut congestion.

But Ivybridge Community College has told pupils that bikes are banned.

Paul Whiteley, of Bittaford in Devon wants his 12-year-old son to cycle to school.

Safety concern

But the school will not let him park his bike there.

He said: "The school has told me there are issues of safety and access, but I thought education was about learning to solve problems and I don't think this school is doing enough to solve these problems.

"The school clearly has the health and safety of the children at heart, but I would say life is a balance of risks."

The school has declined to comment.

A spokesman for education authority Devon County Council, said the school was concerned that pupils on bikes would be at risk from school buses and other traffic on the narrow road leading to the school.

Travel plans

He said more than half of the school's 2,300 pupils came in by bus, which created a significant hazard.

He said: "Pupils have never been encouraged or allowed to cycle to school because there is a concern about safety."

He added that there were proposals to allow pupils to leave their bikes at a swimming pool in Ivybridge and walk to school from there.

Under the government plans, local education authorities are being urged to work with parents to draw up "travel plans", involving safer routes, more road crossings, lower speed limits and cycle paths.

Ministers have pledged £50m for the project, over the next two years, £7.5m of which would pay for more local authority-based school transport advisers.