BEAT the Street helped adults and children around Swindon get active more often last year.

Thousands of people took part in the competitive outdoor game and this inspired them to continue going out and about regularly afterwards.

One woman told the organisers: "It helped us explore our new area as a family and gave an extra excitement for my children to extend our walks. When stuck for nothing to do - we automatically went to Beat the Street. We absolutely adore this game and hope it continues.”

Around 63 per cent of adults and 32 per cent of children who previously considered themselves inactive increased their activity levels after Beat the Street returned.

The game has been played three times in Swindon and the 2021 game achieved the highest number of miles so far. A total of 29,367 people (14 per cent of the population) took part and travelled 319,875 miles between September 15 and October 27.

This time around, 16,790 people were surveyed on their levels of activity prior to the game. After the game, 12,082 people gave feedback enabling organisers to measure the impact of the game on their behaviour. The results show that Beat the Street helped local people who do very little activity become more active.

Beat the Street Swindon was funded by Swindon Borough Council working in partnership with Wiltshire and Swindon Sport, and Swindon Healthy Schools.

The programme aimed to promote active and sustainable modes of travel. Taps on Beat Boxes show the game encouraged people to travel by foot or bicycle to get to school and work, with a third of all activity happening between 8-9am and 3-4pm.

Another aim of Beat the Street is to promote overall mental wellbeing, particularly in the face of the ongoing pandemic. Players completed questions about their mental health and wellbeing.

The answers showed the initiative led to improved mental wellbeing for adults, with increased feelings of happiness and reduced anxiety.

Coun Brian Ford said: “Beat the Street created a real buzz in our community last autumn and got thousands of people up on their feet and moving.

“As well as having positive benefits on residents’ health, the game encouraged people to ditch the car and find more environmentally-friendly ways to travel around the borough.

“To help residents maintain the healthy lifestyle habits they adopted during Beat the Street, we’ve just launched the free Active Swindon Challenge app.

“This brand new fitness app allows residents to take part in time limited challenges, record their journeys around the borough and most importantly, stay active during the winter months.

“I’d encourage anybody who took part in Beat the Street to give our new app a go and build positive habits that last a lifetime.”

Visit www.swindon.gov.uk/bethechange