Rewards for walking and cycling up for grabs as Beat the Street comes to Walsall

Beat the Street is a free game that was created by GP Dr William Bird to encourage people to explore their local areas and to make exercise fun.

The game has been played by more than 1.5m people in more than 120 locations in the UK, including in Dudley where 25,000 people have joined in.

The game is open to anyone of any age who would like to take part and takes place across Birchills Leamore, Willenhall South and Bentley and Darlaston North from Wednesday, March 15 to Wednesday, April 26.

Children use a card and map which will be provided by participating primary schools, and adults can pick up a free card from one of the distribution points listed on the Beat the Street Walsall website which will go live shortly at beatthestreet.me/walsall.

Alternatively, players over the age of 13 can download the free Beat the Street app to play the game with their phone.

Beat the Street Walsall has been commissioned by Walsall Council and the Canal and River Trust with support from the National Lottery via Sport England. It is being delivered by Intelligent Health.

Councillor Gary Flint, portfolio holder for health and wellbeing at Walsall Council, said: “Beat the Street is free and open to everyone of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. It’s an inclusive and compelling game that encourages you to exercise and get active in a fun way with friends, family and the wider community. It is also a great way of getting to know where you live.

“The Beat the Street game has been played nearby and has achieved positive results on behaviour and congestion, with more than 90 per cent of participants reporting that the game had created a positive impact on them. I encourage as many residents to sign up and have a go at walking, cycling or other forms of active travel.”

Ian Lane, head of strategic projects and lead for the Commonwealth Games legacy at Canal and River Trust said: "We’re really pleased to work in partnership to bring this activity to our waterways across Walsall.

"Beat the Street is a wonderful opportunity for us, especially in a region where most people live within one mile of their local canal but have not yet realised it is there and its potential.

"We know that life is better by water, and by taking part it’s a great opportunity to get and out and about and explore, get active and experience how being by water can make a real difference to people’s physical and mental wellbeing."

More information will be available at beatthestreet.me/walsall and on social media at @BTSWalsall.