IT was politician Norman Tebbit who infamously suggested the unemployed should ‘get on their bike’ to look for work.

In Bournemouth the BCHA care and support organisation has gone one better.

Not only are they training unemployed people to work as bike mechanics, they are helping customers get great reconditioned bikes for a good price and tackling the town’s carbon footprint at the Wheelie Great Bike Store, which flung open its Lansdowne doors on Friday.

“We’ll be having a grand opening in a few months but we wanted to get everything off the ground first,” says founder Bernard Walters.

He explains that BCHA are always looking for socially useful enterprises for its clients to get involved in.

“Having a bike is a good way of travelling; you can get to job interviews, sign-on, and doctor’s appointments cheaper than by car or by bus,” he says. “This helps people cut down their costs and get fitter, too, it’s a brilliant form of transport.”

More cyclists will help cut the town’s carbon footprint – especially the one involved in transporting many of the university’s students by bus.

“We’re working closely with the university,” says Bernard. And, of course, the WGBS will provide meaningful occupation and employment to people who have suffered unemployment or social difficulties.

The enterprise started off in a garage with local homeless people learning the bike-repair ropes. “We got Future Jobs Fund money to train our staff and took people from other BCHA projects,” says Bernard.

After a few months they moved into the former solicitor’s office at 15 Lansdowne Road which has been completely done up by BCHA staff and volunteers.

Bikes come from the police auction, the borough council and local landlords, who are frequently left with very serviceable machines when tenants leave.

“Those bikes would normally just got to the tip and be landfilled,” says Bernard. “Now they come to us and we can strip them and re-condition them.”

Because all bikes which are sold must comply with safety regulations, the WGBS machines are all refurbished by Cytech qualified bike mechanics and the store has accounts with top-notch bike-part suppliers.

The shop has an American feel; it’s all-white with a viewing window into the repair area. “People can see exactly what we do,” says Bernard.

They have been supported by BMX hero Anthony Revell of the Stolen Bike Co and sell Stolen’s BMXs, skateboards from Globe, cycle helmets and accessories and are proud to be the only Dorset stockist of cult tees and jackets from Dephect.

Volunteers helped Bernard frame some of the T-shirts and they are in negotiations with local art students to help paint designs onto the shop walls.

On the day the store opened, customers bought bikes and boards and they are always looking for donated machines.

However, says Bernard: “Although it’s really nice that people want to give us bikes we can’t really accept ancient old bone-shakers because you either can’t get the parts, or they fall apart when they are stripped down.”

He’s hoping people will hand over cycles which have been “lingering in the garage” or are “just a bit weathered”.

“We say if it’s been in the garage a few years it’ll probably be fine but if it’s been outside it probably won’t!”

With National Bike Week kicking off today they are hoping to shift quite a few. And at prices from around £60 for a pre-loved, reconditioned bicycle it’s a sound investment; in your health, your bank account’s health and in the people to whom it’s given employment and a chance to get back into a working environment.