Hundreds of children across the Keighley district saddled up for the Big Pedal.

Youngsters were encouraged to cycle or scoot to and from school as part of the annual fortnight-long initiative.

And the venture, organised by the charity Sustrans and funded by Bike Hub, has been hailed as a huge success.

In the Bradford district ten schools – seven of them in the Keighley area – took part.

Between them, they recorded 2,732 journeys by children on bikes, 4,318 journeys on scooters and 1,186 ‘supporter’ journeys by adults.

Schools were awarded points for the numbers taking part.

Top figures were achieved at Burley Oaks Primary School, but there were several impressive performances.

East Morton Primary School – which was competing for the first time – recorded a top daily figure of 54 per cent of pupils on bikes or scooters, and another debutant, Parkwood in Keighley, saw between 12 and 27 per cent of youngsters participating.

Malcolm Shepherd, for Sustrans, said: “Each one of the journeys made during the Big Pedal proves that families can change the way they travel if they choose to.

“Every day millions of children across the UK are driven to primary school, even though most families live an average of just 1.8 miles from their school. It’s a distance which takes just 20 minutes to cycle or scoot.

“When cycling and scooting are incorporated into daily routines, they can play a vital role in improving the health and well-being of our children.”

Other Keighley-area schools taking part were Hothfield at Silsden, Eastburn Junior & Infant School and Crossflatts, Riddlesden St Mary's and Worth Valley primaries.

Nationally, 1,520 schools were involved and over 1.1 million journeys by bike or scooter were recorded on the Big Pedal website.

At Hothfield School, one pupil – Jacob Eakin – unicycled to school.

The nine-year-old got the unicycle as a Christmas present, and hasn't looked back.

He joined other pupils who used more conventional wheeled means to make the school journey.