Lifetime achievement award for cycling instructor

A woman who helped more than 15,000 cyclists to safely navigate the roads has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award.

Julie Turner, 67, from Driffield, has worked as a road safety instructor at East Riding of Yorkshire Council for 25 years, and as a volunteer for three years before that.

The honour has been awarded by the Bikeability Trust - the Department for Transport's national cycle training programme for school children in England.

Turner said: "What I'm proudest of is helping people who never thought cycling was for them."

"Watching confidence grow, friendships form and people discover what they're capable of is incredibly rewarding," she added.

Turner works as part of East Riding of Yorkshire Council's road safety team - working with pupils on Bikeability training courses for young cyclists.

During school holidays, she also volunteers to assist with road safety events, including a project teaching local refugees how to cycle.

Outside work, Turner also organises regular Breeze rides for female cyclists.

She said: "Cycling has shaped such a huge part of my life, and I feel incredibly fortunate that it has become both my career and my main form of volunteering.

"Cycling has given me friendship, purpose, adventure and a real connection to my community, and even when I retire, I know I'll continue helping others experience the joy, freedom, health and well-being that cycling brings for as long as I can."

Councillor Paul West said Turner was an "extremely worthy winner" and the local authority was "lucky to have her on our road safety team".

Announcing the accolade, BBC journalist and handcycling enthusiast Ellis Palmer thanked Turner for her "decades of dedication and passion and service to cycling."

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