A £114 million pot of government funding to make it easier and safer for people to travel by bike is to be split between eight UK cities, the deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has announced.

Mr Clegg said: “With the legacy of the 2012 Olympics and the Tour de France in Yorkshire last year still fresh in our minds, this money can help Britain become a cycling nation to rival the likes of Denmark and the Netherlands.”

He cited research by British Cycling claims that investment in this area could save the NHS £17 billion by 2020, as well as cutting road deaths by as much as 30 per cent.

The biggest beneficiaries will be Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, which will all receive £22 million. Other cities that have won funding are Newcastle (£10.6 million), Norwich (£8.4 million), Bristol (£19 million), Oxford (£3.3 million) and Cambridge (£6 million).