A village cafe has teamed up with a Weston-super-Mare education provider to launch a cycle hire company run by people with learning disabilities.

The Strawberry Line Cafe, in Yatton, has joined forces with Burley Inclusive to set up the Strawberry Line Cycle Hire Company, which will be based at the cafe next to Yatton Station.

The cafe itself is run on a not-for-profit basis and has employed people with learning disabilities for a number of years, while Burley Inclusive was set up to aid the career prospects of people with learning disabilities and gives students the skills needed to live and work independently in their own homes and communities.

Bosses applied to the Department of Transport’s local sustainable transport fund in order to make the project a reality, and the application paid for the firm’s Dawes Sahara bikes and secure storage container. The scheme was also supported by North Somerset Council.

The company held a pre-launch event at its base next to the station on March 9, which saw café director Natasha Pester and Burley employee Adam Burley enjoy a buffet lunch with guests, before taking part in a bike ride along the Strawberry Line’s cycle path.

A spokesman for the Strawberry Line Cycle Company said: “Natasha and Adam were joined in the fresh air and sunny weather by Lewis Fewings and Cian Cantrell, (who are) two of the company’s first employees.”

The company will open to the public on March 27 and will be open every Sunday from 10am-4pm.