LEIGH youngsters are among schoolchildren being asked to put their best foot forward to walk to and from school school each day.

They took part in the first Wigan Children's Parliament in Wigan Town Hall last week, discussing, among other issues, the environment.

Wigan Mayor, Cllr Ken Pye, then presented them the task of investigating a safe route from home to school which they could take by foot, and offered a cash prize for the winning entry.

It is part of his initiative, 'Citizenship and Environment' in which he hopes to encourage residents to become more responsible in the way they treat their surroundings, both in the countryside, local streets and houses.

Mayor Pye, who is a keen cyclist, will also be taking part in National Bike Week, which starts on Saturday, June 7. He will be attempting to reach the Town Hall from home on his bike faster than the Mayoral limousine.

In addition, he is taking part in a Triathlon event between members of the local Health Services Trust and teams from the Local Authority which involves running five miles.

He explained why he had encouraged youngsters to walk rather than cycle to school even though it will be National Bike Week: "I did not want to encourage children to take their bikes to school, because they might be in danger from cars, and headteachers might not be too pleased at having all those bikes in school. Bike Week is not just about cycling, it is about trying to reduce pollution from cars and lorries.

"I have this vision of all our schoolchildren enjoying their walk along their own safe route to school, perhaps with mum and dad, or a group of school friends, breathing in the fresh air, getting benefit from the exercise and noticing interesting things about them. Surely this would be much more healthy for them and for all of us, than that silly ride in a stuffy car.

"If they would just try it during Bike Week, particularly if the weather is fine and it is still light at going home time, I am sure that they will find it a lot more enjoyable all round and continue walking to school every day from then onwards."

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