Police will be able to whizz about the town centre and chase down criminals faster with the help of two new electric bicycles.

South Swindon Parish Council bought the machines after receiving a request from officers to help them be more visible in the Broadgreen and town centre area as well as to allow them more manoeuvrability in small alleys.

The council paid £3,667 for the bikes which were supplied by Mitchell Cycles on Shrivenham Road with a £750 discount.

Andy Mitchell, owner of the 52-year-old bike shop, believes it can only help the community.

He said: “It’s very good for the police that they can use these instead of cars.

“It’s very environmentally friendly and it also means they can be seen by people so they seem more approachable.

“We gave the parish a discount because it’s a good thing for the police to be using bikes.

“All our guys here ride bikes, I go and do 20 miles on my bike every weekend and it’s a great thing for the police to be seen.”

PC Nick Finning said the new machines will allow people to see police out and about.

He said: “It’s an initiative between ourselves and the parish council, we’ve done something similar before in North Swindon and it’s been quite successful.

“South Swindon Parish Council covers quite a large area of Swindon so this will allow us to always be on the beat, which is what people want to see.

"And at the same time we can respond if something comes in and get there quickly, whereas if we’re out on foot that isn’t always possible,” he told the Adver.

Parish councillor Junab Ali added: “It’s a simple one, this is important because our police colleagues in the area asked for it because it will help them in their day-to-day efforts of managing the area especially when moving around.

“Rather than just walking or using a traditional pedal bike, this will just give them that extra speed to catch criminals in the act if they need to.

“And it’s more accessible where vehicles can’t go like in back alleyways or footpaths, it gives them that flexibility.”

And when it comes to the place to purchase equipment like the bikes, Coun Ali said he believed the parish will always look local.

He explained: “When the parish was founded, we made a commitment that we will do our utmost to keep things local, to buy local and employ locally.

“And why not? Mitchell Cycles has been here for over 50 years and they’re quite good at bikes.

“They’ve given us quite a good discount and it’s great.

“This is working with the community," he said. "As a parish we’re the lowest level of government and we’re on the ground, listening to people and working with local businesses to improve our community.”