A TRICYCLE for special needs children, created by a part-time inventor, has been picked up by the world’s biggest bike manufacturer.

Les McMahon, of Worsley, developed the trike for his 13-year-old neighbour Lewis Flint. Lewis has an undiagnosed genetic condition, which means he communicates through an aid and has no independent mobility

His parents Dawn and Andy have previously tried other options to help him ride a bicycle but they were uncomfortable.

Mr McMahon, a neighbour and former engineer stepped in developed a trike with a sidecar fitted to to a regular bicycle. He then contacted Hero Cycles, which is the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer by volume, to try and get it made on a larger scale.

Mr McMahon said: “I’d seen the family struggling and I knew they were really keen on getting Lewis to experience everything an able-bodied child can, so I knew there was a real need for the trike. I got lucky in that the design just came together and when Hero invited us to demonstrate the bike it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Lewis’s mum Dawn praised Les for the invention and said it has made a huge difference to her son’s life.

She said: “I don’t think we could have found a better neighbour. Les has been phenomenal in the time and energy he’s put in to make this for Lewis so that we can all go out on a bike ride. He absolutely loves it and it means we can go for a ride in the sunshine and then go to a cafe.

The finished product will be developed by Hero’s Manchester-based company Insync, at their global design centre. The company has said it will be cheaper than similar products, retailing at £500 rather than £5,000.

Abhishek Pratap Singh, head of design at Insync, said: “Our design team is now working with Les to make his invention more mature and, if this is successful, we’d like to create a trike for the general market so that more families with children with special needs can benefit.”