Twelve months ago, Neil Porter was, in his own words, in a very low and lonely place.

He had finished work as a therapy assistant at Hull Royal Infirmary after a battle with mental health problems and was feeling the strain of caring for his wife Lisa, who is disabled.

It seemed the 53-year-old was entering a downward spiral. However, the bike lover was a fervent spectator at the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire and one chance meeting there changed his life.

Neil got talking to John Marshall, the chief executive of R-evolution – a Cottingham-based charity which helps to train people who are out of work to fix bicycles with the aim of giving the repaired, finished articles to Yorkshire youngsters.

The East Hull resident immediately put his hand up for the three-month training programme and has stayed on as a volunteer ever since.

And Neil believes the chance to thrown himself into a lifelong passion and make a difference may have saved his life.

“Twelve months ago, I was quite low,” he said. “I’ve suffered with mental health problems most of my adult life.

“I didn’t realise it until maybe three years ago when I had a major breakdown. Since then I’ve been on anti-depressants and struggling with lack of concentration and lack of motivation.

“My wife is quite disabled. I’m looking after her and I needed something to do a few days a week just to keep my hand in really – a few days a week for my own wellbeing.”

“I talked to John at the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries stand at the Tour de Yorkshire – I loved what the charity did and it tied in brilliantly what I wanted to do and it went from there.

“I started working with them, going out on events and doing bike mechanic training and ride leader training.

“I can’t thank John enough for what he’s done for me – the difference in me from this time last year is amazing.

“I didn’t feel I had a purpose any more. I’d finished work, a job I actually really loved. And to find something that loved equally has been a lifesaver for me.”

Ealing Times:

John added that Neil’s journey from a year ago has been striking and that he has developed into one of the centre’s most loved and valued colleagues, with repairing broken bikes just one of the skills in Neil’s armoury.

“Over the course of the last year he’s done a whole range of different activities, at the moment he’s building some jumps for a cyclo-cross race but he’s helped out at events, delivered training and worked on bikes,” said John. “He’s got lots of talents and loves working for us.

“Everybody loves Neil – he’s one of our favourite people. He’s got lots of skills but he’s also a really fun guy to have around the place as well.

“And when he’s around here he’s really enthusiastic about being here and he’s getting a lot from it.”

The charity works with schools as in conjunction with the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries scheme – which stores bikes ready to loan to children and young people and families in the county to promote healthy living and social inclusion in a fun way.

And for Neil, seeing the faces of the children who are presented with the chance to take to two wheels, some for the very first time, fills him with warmth that something he loves doing so much is having a meaningful impact on the community.

“It’s had such an impact on my life,” he said. “If I hadn’t found it I would probably be sitting at home in a very dark place. This has given me my life back.

“I love the feeling of getting an old bike, stripping it down, putting it back to together and making it useful again. My passion is old bikes.

“Hopefully my time with R-evolution will be beneficial for both of us. We’ve done such fantastic things so far to get this place up and running and to be able to work in a beautiful environment with plenty of room, I go out on the events as well and it’s just brilliant.

“That ability to work on a bike, know what you’re doing, I’ve always tinkered, but the ability to do it right, make it safe and put a child on it is just fantastic.

“Just to see a kid on a bike you’ve fixed and to be happy and smiling and learning how to ride it properly – that great sense of achievement which obviously makes me feel better.”

To find out more about Neil’s story, please visit www.ybonline.co.uk/bikelibraries