THE only recovery centre for injured ex-servicemen and women in the North West is up and running in Rossendale after receiving more than £100,000 investment.

Military Mountain Bikers, based in Stubbylee Hall, Bacup, trains people who have left the armed forces to be able to help local families and community groups to get on their bikes.

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It is the brainchild of Martyn Gibbons MBE, a dad-of-three and war hero who was serving as a soldier in the Royal Regiment Fusiliers in Sangin, Afghanistan, when a mortar attack caused shrapnel injuries to his legs in 2007.

Martyn, 40, from Bacup, was confined to a wheelchair for two years and told he would never walk again, but went on to finish in a respectable eighth place in a road cycling race at the Invictus Games in September.

After 12 months of hard work, Military Mountain Bikers is now open for business, with equipment worth £50,000 and the remaining pot to pay running costs and wages of staff, donated by the Endeavour Fund and the Royal Foundation.

He said: “It’s been a big learning curve, what with the health and safety aspect, all the training and everything else that goes with providing a community service, but we’re up and running now.

“We’re working with groups like scouts and schools and other people who want to learn how to ride on routes up to Gisburn and Hurstwood, but also gentler ones along canals and towpaths.

“It’s a big thing for the guys and girls that have served, because they can have as much or as little involvement as they want. It gets them back used to being part of the community after being taken away from their home towns and families for years.

“We have lots of equipment that can help them get involved despite their injuries, such as hand-bikes if they struggle to use their legs now.”

Jake Berry, Rossendale’s MP, was taken out by the team for a ride in Stubbylee Park and visited the facilities.

He said: “The saddle on the bike was like a razor blade! I really enjoyed myself though.

“The new building and the equipment they have is fantastic. It’s truly a great thing for Rossendale for Military Mountain Bikers to be based here, both for the community and the ex-servicemen and women involved.”

For more information about the project, email info@militarymountainbikers.co.uk, or call in at The Annexe, Stubbylee Hall, Bacup.