A SCHEME to help disadvantaged youngsters enjoy the delights of cycling was officially launched in West Devon last week. Devon Cycle Hire, based at Sourton Down, has gained funding from Dartmoor National Park Authority?s Sustainable Development Fund to run a new programme called Support Through Cycling. Karen and Peter Turner set up the cycle hire business on West Devon?s Granite Way cycle path this year ? the idea for the new programme followed an incident last summer. Karen said: ?We had this little girl come in last year, she had been in several foster homes and she was a very sad child. ?She was only ten ? her carer took her out for the day on the bikes and when she came back she was a completely different child. She?d had a fantastic day because the cycle track is traffic-free. ?She stayed with us for a while after she got back and looked around, and afterwards we thought about how we could offer this sort of thing to more children. ?We thought if it could make a difference to her day it could make a difference to a lot of children. ?Some of the children we are seeing have experienced some really unpleasant things and some are very young.? Karen said the benefits of cycling, particularly on traffic-free tracks in a beautiful environment like West Devon, could be mental as well as physical. ?I think cycling brings out a bit of the child in most people,? said Karen. Thanks to the grant from the DNPA, which has been matched by Devon Cycle Hire, Karen and Peter are offering up to 300 disadvantaged children a day?s free cycle ride over the next three years. The project is working with a wide variety of agencies, from fostering agencies, West Devon?s Country Holidays for Inner City Kids (CHICKS), the CLIC Sargent cancer charity and Children?s Hospice South West. Karen said the project was already proving very popular. ?It makes running a business really worthwhile, it?s so much better if you feel can give something back to the community,? said Karen. Anyone who would like to find out more about Support Through Cycling should call Karen Turner on 01837 861141.