A national government scheme to increase the number of people cycling to work has been launched in Bristol.

Bristol companies Burges Salmon and Osborne Clarke, as well as Bristol City Council and North Bristol NHS Trust have already signed up for the new Cycle to Work Guarantee.

By signing up to the new scheme, public and private sector employers commit to provide their staff with safe bike storage, changing facilities and access to the Cycle to Work scheme for new bikes and cycling equipment.

Evidence from employers already providing similar support for their staff shows that it dramatically increases the proportion who cycle to work.

Typically, a third or more of staff of large urban employers live within a 30-minute bike ride of their place of employment, but only about three per cent currently cycle to work.

At Burges Salmon, that figure is more than 12 per cent, with 65 employees regularly cycling to work at their Narrow Quay headquarters.