Students who have been forced off the UEA campus due to concrete safety fears are being offered free bikes to ease their newfound commutes.

Last week, the University of East Anglia was forced to close 750 rooms in the Grade II* listed ziggurats due to the presence of reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (Raac).

It left officials scrambling to find alternative accommodation for hundreds of students who are due to arrive or return to campus next week.

Of these, just short of 600 have been able to remain on campus, but 170 have been forced into the city centre.

Eastern Daily Press: The Ziggurat buildings at the UEA.

They will be placed in private accommodation in St Crispin's House - a newly-completed block of student flats in Duke Street, close to Anglia Square.

The change leaves students having to commute to campus for lectures and seminars - with the university paying the difference in rent costs.

To make up for this, the cash-strapped university has offered free bikes or bus passes to ease these commutes. 

All 170 students relocated to St Crispin's House will be able to either claim a free bus pass or a voucher to purchase a bicycle.

David Maguire, UEA vice-chancellor, said: "A lot of hard work has gone into minimising disruption for our students and I am very pleased that we are now in a position where every relocated student knows where they are going to be moving in to when they arrive with us for the new academic year.

"It's been a huge logistic challenge to find accommodation for around 750 students at such short notice, but this has been completed successfully. 

"I would like to thank our students for their patience while we've dealt with this change."

Students with accessibility and mobility issues were prioritised during the process of deciding which students would remain on the university campus.

The government recently revised its guidelines on Raac, which was widely used until the 1990s. It has a 30 year shelf-life, at the end of which it is prone to crumble and collapse.