Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster has thrown his support behind a campaign to get people in the town cycling - and raise money for charity at the same time.

Earlier this year, a bike hire scheme was introduced in Watford giving the chance for residents, shoppers, and visitors to cycle around the town for a fee.

Now, the operator of the scheme, Beryl Bikes, and a Watford company have announced it will be supporting Watford Borough Council's Covid-19 charities appeal over the next fortnight.

Watford-based PLM Central Ltd will donate 50p for every ride while Beryl has agreed to donate 20 per cent of every minute bundle purchased over the fortnight.

Director of PLM Central Ltd, Niketh Shetty, said: "In difficult times like this it is essential that we show our community spirit by supporting each other. We are confident that we will overcome these extraordinary circumstances and come out of this crisis more resilient and healthy in more ways than one.”

"Every employee at PLM Central has been encouraged to use Beryl’s bikes to commute to and from work, both for their health benefits and to combat the spread of Covid 19 to adhere to our company policies."

Watford Observer:

Ben Foster, Mayor Peter Taylor, Muhsin Ali of donor company PLM, Cllr Glen Saffery. Credit: Simon Jacobs

Watford councillor Glen Saffery, who has been leading the Watford Helps initiative, said: "When we set up Watford Helps, we wanted to get the whole community together to help those who need it most.

"I couldn’t think of a better way than through our bike hire scheme with Beryl. What better incentive to stay active and travel in a more environmentally friendly way than the knowledge every ride will help Watford charities and their work with local people in need?

"A huge thanks to Beryl, PLM and Ben Foster for their amazing support of the appeal."

So far, the Watford charity appeal has raised more than £150,000 for charities in Watford and this initiative with the bikes will only boost the fundraising total.

To hire a Beryl Bike, users can download the Beryl app for free from the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android.

Bikes can be picked up and dropped off in marked 'Beryl Bays; which are visible both in app and on the street.

Those wishing to make additional donations to help local Watford charities can text WATFORD to 70970 to donate £5 or text WATFORD to 70191 to donate £10.

One hundred percent of all donations made through "Ride For Watford" will go directly to local charities.

The bike charity initiative is underway, ending on August 14.