A CARER has donated £100 of his own money to kick start a campaign to improve a busy cycle route.

Mario Tese, of Titchmarsh Close, Royston, cycles to work at the Maycroft Residential Care centre in Meldreth every day using the A10.

But he believes the pavement there needs to be widened and possibly resurfaced to make it safe for cyclists, joggers and pedestrians.

In a letter to county councillor Susan van de Ven, who formed the A10 corridor cycling campaign last month, Mr Tese said: “I have a choice to cycle on the A10, which is very busy both ways with many lorries, or cycle on the footpath which is full of potholes.

“In the dark it becomes a hazard, I have to watch my back and look where I am cycling.

“Cycling reduces congestion on the roads, but we cyclists need to stay alive and free from serious injuries and continue to be of a benefit to the community. As dead people we are not of much help.”

Cllr van de Ven said she hoped local businesses would come forward to offer financial support for the project. An formal application to get the route upgraded would then have to be made to Cambridgeshire County Council by Melbourn Parish Council.

She said: “Mario is one of a number of people who have taken the campaign to heart and contributed so much in the first few weeks, I’ve been amazed by how quickly things have got moving.

“We have had someone spending hours designing a website, and another group of people who have been busy arranging our first group cycle ride, which will take place on May 19.”

The group’s next meeting has been scheduled for March 12, starting at 7.30pm, at the Elin Way Community Room in Meldreth. Cllr van de Ven said she is keen to get as many cyclists from Royston to the meeting as possible.

“Members of our campaign based in Royston are keen to meet other cyclists from the town so they can make plans for developing their own Royston focused campaign, which could support the A10 Corridor Campaign in the same way that the Cambridge Cycling Campaign already is,” she said.