The number of people cycling during May in Ayr increased by 316 per cent on the same month last year.

Cycling Scotland used cycle counters in the town to reveal the increase.

In May 2019, a total of 369 bikes were recorded by counters positioned on Castlehill Road, Whitletts Road, Prestwick Road, and Carrick Road.

In May this year, at the same locations, 1536 cyclists were recorded.

The biggest increase was at Carrick Road with 523 more cyclists counted than the previous year, which was recorded as 7.2 per cent of all modes of traffic that passed the counters within the month of May.

The modal share of bicycles on Prestwick Road was 2.18 per cent, on Castlehill Road 1.78 per cent, and on Whitletts Road 0.57 per cent.

The trend is reflected nation-wide, with the survey revealing that cycling as the modal share increased from 0.67 per cent in May 2019 to 3.44 per cent in in May 2020.

Cycling Scotland monitoring and development officer, Natalie Cozzolino said: “Less traffic is one of the reasons more people are cycling and to sustain this change in travel habits long term, it’s essential we increase our network of dedicated, separate, inclusive cycle lanes.”