THEY may not have had rapper Xzibit or hip-hop DJ Tim Westwood, but youngsters from Dean Court, in Cumnor, got into the spirit of MTV show Pimp My Ride for a two-day event to transform their bicycles.

The hit television show, presented in America by Xzibit and in the UK by Tim Westwood, sees clapped-out old bangers transformed into gleaming, customised vehicles.

On Friday and Saturday, 12 children aged nine to 14 joined workshops with a graffiti artist and a bike mechanic to convert their two-wheelers.

Helen Le Brocq, director of Oxfordshire Youth Art Partnership Trust, which organised the project, said: “We were given funding from the Vale Housing Association and the Vale of White Horse District Council to work with some of the people in this area to try and give them some positive, creative activities. We came up with this idea for Pimp My Bike because of the huge success of the show.”

On the first day, a mechanic went over the bikes to make them roadworthy.

The project cost about £2,000, with those taking part paying just £5.