EXCITEMENT surrounding the Tour de France is helping Silsden pensioners with a campaign to repair their potholed road.

A decorated bike has been raffled to raise cash to fill in holes on unadopted Spencer Avenue.

Ernest Dodding, one of the residents, painted the bike in the colours of the Tour de France riders.

He went around Silsden last weekend selling raffle tickets, and planned to pull the winning ticket this week.

Mr Dodding had approached Bradford Council to ask whether any members of the public had dumped unwanted bikes at the waste tip in Royd Ings Avenue, Keighley.

He was delighted when they got back in touch with him to say they had a bike with drop handlebars.

He said: “It’s not rideable but it looks alright. I painted it and taped the frame in yellow, and red white and blue.”

Residents of Spencer Avenue embarked on a long-term campaign last year to raise many thousands of pounds to cover the cost of making-up the road.

Bradford Council gave £1,000 to repair the biggest hole, but does not have enough money to cover the full cost of surfacing the road so it can be adopted.