Specialist bikes for public use are coming to Norwich following a Government initiative to encourage more people to cycle.

It comes after a £700,000 national scheme was announced by the Department for Transport yesterday – with Norwich being one of 11 areas set to benefit.

The city will house at least three electric cargo bikes which can be hired from Outspoken, a Cambridge-based company which won the contract to supply bikes for the east of England.

Rob King, director of Outspoken, said: 'If the scheme is successful we would like to increase the number of bikes in Norwich in the future.'

The electric bikes, which can carry anything from children to shopping bags, will be available for public hire from mid-November.

Outspoken, which operates a delivery service across Norwich, will use the bikes for business in the mornings while the public can hire them in the afternoon. Exact details of when the bikes can be hired have not yet been finalised.

'The bikes can be used by people who are going on shopping trips, picking up their children, or other things,' Mr King said.

'For example if a student is moving house, they could use the bike rather than having to hire a car or van.'

Electric bikes are increasingly popular in the UK, with an estimated 25,000 sold every year.

Mr King said hiring the bikes would cost around £3 per hour.

The bikes will be kept at Outspoken's Norwich depot on Broadsman Close, but Mr King said the company would be looking at developing a system where the bikes could be delivered to people who hire them.