A BMX star and world record holder was on hand to pass on his knowledge and experience as he visited children at St Paul’s Primary School in Chippenham.

Matti Hemmings put Year 5 and 6 children through their paces with a BMX workshop, which included them using the bikes and attempting their own wheelies, flicks and turns.

They also learnt about bike safety and the skills required to master different tricks and techniques, such as resilience and patience.

Mr Hemmings, who is a professional flatland BMX rider, said: “It’s been really good, there were some who never had ridden a bike before but they gave it a go which was great.

“It’s not a natural discipline, you’ve got to build confidence and it’s the same for me to do the tricks I have to build confidence.

“They might not want to do that or have an interest in BMX but it’s about giving them the confidence to do something else.

“Some of them thought they can’t do it but they got on the bike and did it.”

Sixty-four pupils from Year 5 and 6 took part in the workshop, which was held on Monday (April 3) at the school on The Oaks.

Sian Evans, P.E. coordinator who organised for Mr Hemmings to visit the school, said: “I was trying to find varieties of different activities for children to do and I wanted some alternative sports.

“I found Matti through Twitter and asked him what he would do and he talked about resilience, bike safety and it’s just fantastic we had him in.”