AN amnesty has been launched to stop people filling Oxford’s cycle racks with abandoned bikes.

The Oxford Cycle Workshop has begun its first city centre appeal for donated bikes, timed to coincide with the end of term at the city’s two universities.

The three-day amnesty comes two weeks after the Oxford Mail carried out a three-hour inspection of bike racks in the city last week and discovered 40 abandoned cycles in the city centre.

The bikes have been labelled an “eyesore” by Paul Cullen, chairman of Oxford Pedestrians Association, as many have fallen victim to theft and vandalism with missing parts or buckled wheels.

Cycle workshop director Dan Harris said: “We knew the situation with bike racks was bad in Oxford.

“As a cyclist here we have all had frustrating times when you can’t find somewhere to park your bike because spaces are being taken up by something that doesn’t look like it’s been ridden in six months.

“This is a difficult time now when a lot of students are leaving Oxford and often people look for the easiest option to get rid of their bike, like leaving it on a cycle rack.

“However, the bike amnesty is the best way to dispose of a bike because we can bring it back into use for someone else.”

At the first two bike amnesty events held at the Oxford University bike club and Oxford Brookes University, the workshop recovered 23 bikes which could otherwise have ended up attached to the city’s racks.

The workshop recycles about 1,000 bikes a year, with youngsters and prisoners among those who fix up the dumped cycles and learn skills in bike maintenance.

It is run as a non-profit-making cooperative and the revamped bikes are sold from their Magdalen Road base.

Mr Harris said: “We’re happy to get people’s bikes, whatever state they’re in, and if we can’t recycle it we’ll take it to metal salvage.

“We do strip parts off second-hand bikes even if we can only take a reflector off or a handlebar. We always stockpile second-hand components.”

Mr Cullen said: “This is a fantastic idea. Anything that helps to keep Oxford’s bike racks clear is to be welcomed.

“There’s lots of people who come to Oxford in need of a cheap bike and no doubt these bikes will be given the once-over before they are sold.

“I think people will respond to the notion that they’re helping others by donating their bike.”

The final amnesty event takes place outside Oxfam in Broad Street today and is available to anyone who wants to donate a bike. It runs from 4pm to 6.30pm.

Unwanted bikes can also be handed in at Redbridge Waste Recycling Centre. Call 01865-204799 for details..

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk