The leader of Three Rivers council has hailed a "great" start to the expansion of the Beryl Bikes scheme, with the vehicles being used more than 100 times in the first week.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst took to social media to express his delight after the long-delayed project got off the ground.

He said: "Over 100 usages of the bikes during the first week is impressive.

"The average journey time was 20 minutes, with 27 journeys made just in Croxey, 45 from Croxey to other Beryl Bike locations and 30 travelling into Croxey."

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst with Ash Trowe of Beryl Bikes. (Image: Supplied by Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst) The green light had been given in February, but repeated delays meant the bikes only came to the village earlier this month.

Last month, Cllr Giles-Medhurst laid the blame at the feet at Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), describing the situation as  "bureaucracy gone mad."

Beryl Bikes have been in Watford since March 2020, with neighbouring Bushey also adopting the scheme earlier this year.

Watford's Mayor Peter Taylor also commented on the expansion, writing on social media: "I am thrilled that we have continuously expanded the scheme, ensuring more people benefit from cycling and its health benefits.

"In Watford, we recently passed 500,000 sustainable journeys across more than 1,340,000 km with Beryl! I can’t wait to see the bikes being used by even more people in the years ahead."

Plans have also recently been discussed to bring rentable e-scooters to Watford as part of a similar scheme.

Watford Borough Council said extending the hire options to include scooters could reduce the scheme’s cost in the long term and introduce more options for “active travel”.

Beryl currently operates in 21 areas around England.

In total, around 200 rental bikes and 100 e-bikes are available in Watford and Bushey, with the Croxley Green expansion adding to the number of options in the area.

Reaction to the expansion has been mixed with some residents expressing concerns about bikes being left on the street, while others welcomed the arrival of the scheme after several months of waiting.