A new bike shop in Wood Green has launched a scheme to teach disabled young adults new skills.

Bikes for Good Causes, a new social enterprise in Wood Green High Road, is working with national charity Action for Kids to help people with learning difficulties find work.

As well as providing training and jobs, the shop gives 30 percent of the profits from bike sales and repair work directly to Action for Kids.

Elliot Warren, owner of Bikes for Good Causes, said: “I initially started the shop as a business. I wanted to sell safe, affordable bikes because people haven’t got the money to spend.

“People kept coming and asking me if I did a volunteering programme. Cycling is on the up, it’s very popular and people, especially young people, want to learn how to fix their bikes.  So I joined Haringey Association of Voluntary and Community Organisations (HAVCO) and I met the CEO of Action for Kids.

"What we hope to do is help Action for Kids clients get jobs. It’s not about bike maintenance, it’s about life skills.”

The bike shop currently relies on donations of old and unwanted bikes or bike parts from the community, which are then fixed up and sold on.

Mr Warren said: “There are thousands of bikes in people’s gardens and garden sheds just rusting away that people don’t want to do anything with, so we pick them up, do them up and then people can use them. Those bikes are our funding source."

A spokesman for Action for Kids said: “We’re really, really excited about starting work with Bikes for Good Causes. We’re always looking for partners in the community to provide jobs for our young people.

"Often we work with bigger organisations like supermarkets, so it’s really great to be involved with a small organisation and to be there right from the start of the project.”

The shop currently provides a bike fixing service, and hopes to open a coffee shop.