A cycling group has encouraged others to apply for a grant to make cycling more accessible to Londoners.

Community cycling group Hornbeam Joyriders in Waltham Forest, which was set up last year, was given funding from Transport for London (TfL).

They now want to promote the project and are advising any other group to try and win a slice of the Cycle Grants London money.

The group is open to anyone, but mainly focuses on women and families and is about 80 per cent Muslim.

Khadija Zaidi, mother of three joined the group last October and began training as a group cycling instructor for Hornbeam Joyriders in December – she is due to by fully qualified by August.

Ms Zaidi praised the CGL grant money they group had received – just under £10 thousand pounds to be spent over three years.

She said: “It’s been really helpful and has made a huge difference in helping us get more resources and more support.”

“A lot of places like us really rely on volunteers.”

Ms Zaidi said it has allowed Carolyn Axtell, the woman who manages the group to work with them a few days a week on a paid basis as well as enabling the group to get more resources such as equipment.

The group aims to get women into a position where they feel comfortable enough to cycle.

According to 2017 analysis by Transport for London (TfL) only 27 per cent of current cycle trips are made by women, and 15 per cent by BAME individuals.

Ms Zaidi said: “For some of the women it might be the first chance they get to have time for themselves, to do something different, it provides them with the opportunity to do this.”

“There’s been a huge demand for this as a lot of people don’t have the confidence to get on the roads themselves.”

The group also works closely with other cycling groups in the borough such as Cycle Sisters.

Hornbeam JoyRiders currently has women coming for the group rides from Hackney, Redbridge and Haringey and is hoping that the women will set up similar groups in their communities.

Ms Zaidi praised this move in improving integration in the community, she added: “We are trying to work with women and then work with other groups that work with different people.”