Discarded bikes at Eastbourne shopping centre find new lease of life in Africa

The shopping centre in the town has teamed up with Halfords to repair the bikes, ship them to Africa and see them bring mobility and happiness to villagers in rural communities.

Mark Powell, General Manager at The Beacon, said the services Halfords had to offer were an excellent way to solve the headache of abandoned cycles.

Mark said: “We tend to store bikes for up to six months, and currently have five bikes that have just been left in the centre.

"For years, we’d accumulated unwanted bikes, but we were never quite sure what to do with them.

“The link with Halfords has proved really helpful,” Mark said. “We now wait until we have a five or so bikes, then hand them over for recycling.”

Halfords take the bikes, make all necessary repairs to make them roadworthy, then store them in a shipping container until they have a full load to take to Africa.

A spokesman for Halfords said: “Across the UK, millions of bikes lie unused and rusting, whereas in some parts of Africa, a bike can provide a lifeline enabling people to travel to work, school and carry goods further afield to sell.

“Since 2013 we have been working with Re-Cycle to gather donated bikes to send to rural Africa,” the spokesperson said. “We have collected nearly 60,000 bikes which would otherwise have ended up in landfill.”