A Cornish cycling enthusiast is lovingly restoring unwanted second-hand bikes to giveaway to people.

Matt Potter, from Newquay, has started the ‘Bike Shed’ initiative to encourage people to cycle as much as possible rather than drive around.

The 50-year-old secondary school teacher gives the bicycles away for free to make cycling accessible as possible to people as he believes it has so many physical, mental and environmental benefits.

The idea for the bike shed initiative first started when Matt spotted someone dumping a bike at the household waste and recycling centre at Trevenson Road.

He has so far refurbished 18 bikes and found new homes for them.

Matt said: “Towards the end of last summer I was at the dump and I saw a chap about to throw a reasonable looking mountain bike into one of the skips. 

“I went over and had a chat with him and it turned out the bike had been his son’s but was no longer used and was taking up space in the shed. 

“Since it had a buckled wheel, a broken brake and the gears need attention, he thought it unsuitable to sell, so was going to throw it away.  As he’d not yet thrown the bike into the skip, I was able to take it home to repair. 

“Around the same time, I was given a bike by a family member, to fix up and give to anyone who needed it. I was also aware of ‘The Bike Project’, a charity that fixes up second hand bikes and gives them to refugees in London and Birmingham. 

“So, all of this got me thinking about the number of no longer needed, but serviceable bikes that must end up in landfill simply because they’re not quite good enough to sell. 

“I thought surely I could do something similar, to The Bike Project, but on a much smaller scale, here in Newquay, for the community of Newquay. 

“Therefore, as I’d been maintaining my mine and my family’s bikes for many years, I decided to quantify the knowledge I’d gained over the years by gaining a Cytech certificate, soon after The Bicycle Shed was born.”

Matt previously hit the headlines after cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End while also dialysing four times a day throughout to help raise cash for Kidney Care UK. 

He is now in his third year of dialysis after having his problematic transplanted kidney removed.

Matt recently celebrated his 50th birthday by having major surgery and a six-week stay in hospital but he is not letting the illness get in the way of helping others.

Matt said: “I have loved everything to do with bikes and cycling for well over 30 years. 

“I’m most certainly an advocate for the benefits of cycling, both physically and mentally. 

“I also believe that as a society, we use our cars too much, causing environmental and traffic problems. Even with the switch to electric vehicles we will still end up with traffic issues if we don’t find alternative ways of transport for some journeys. Cycling has to a part of the answer, doesn’t it?

“Whilst not costing nearly as much as many other forms of transport, a bike can still be expensive, too expensive for some. 

“This is particularly so at the moment, when everything around us seems to cost more and more each passing day. 

“With the bicycle shed, I am able to make cycling, with all its benefits for the rider, the environment and society as a whole, accessible to people who otherwise might not be able to buy a bike.”