THE Friends of Burnham-on-Sea Hospital group has donated an exercise bike to the hospital's physiotherapy department to replace one they bought 20 years ago.

The new Monark Exercise Cycle, which cost £2,640, has been fitted with a Cyclotherapy system which is designed to help rehabilitate people with lower limb injuries and neurological disorders.

Bernard Spilsbury, chairman of The Friends of Burnham Hospital group, presented the new kit to physiotherapists Mike Mackay and Heloise Saint at Burnham War Memorial Hospital last week.

Ceri Joyce from The Friends of Burnham Hospital said the department is 'thrilled' with their new bike.

"We are continually raising funds throughout the year so that if a request like this one comes through we have the funds to purchase much needed equipment," Ceri said.

"The Physiotherapy department were delighted with the new bike as it was technically far more capable than the one we purchased some 20 years ago.

"Cycling provides an excellent cardiovascular, low impact exercise that most are familiar with.

"When fitted with a Unicam patented pedal system the clinical use of a standard cycle is greatly extended as it allows patients with lower limb impairments/injuries to use “Cyclotherapy” as part of their routine treatment.

"If we look at cycling purely as a mobilising technique a typical ten-minute session pedalling at fifty revolutions per minute will generate five hundred movements through the joint.

"All exercises are patient driven and therapist controlled, where the physiotherapist is able to precisely set and record each exercise session and the patient is able to see and feel their improvement as exercises progress."