BMX champion Mike Mullen provided inspiration to youngsters when he visited Chandler’s Ford to pass on his sporting knowledge.

The former world amateur champion was at the Knightwood Leisure Centre for a Sportivate-backed post-London 2012 legacy project.

The BMX event was supported by both Sport Hampshire and IOW County Sports partnership.

Mullen said: “The opportunity to support such community sports programmes is a real privilege for me.

“I’m hopeful that by using the Olympic and Paralympic legacy from London 2012, and through my experiences in competing at elite level, I can motivate all the young people in attendance to sustain their sports participation.”

Mullen was present at one of the last BMX events at Knightwood backed by Sportivate.

Figures published last April showed that almost 190,000 teenagers and young adults had benefited from free or discounted six-to-eight week sports coaching courses through Sportivate.

Of these, 156,547 have successfully completed their course, missing no more than one session.

National Lottery funding means Sportivate can continue helping 14 to 25-year-olds to get involved in sports, from judo and tennis to wakeboarding and parkour, until 2017.

Mullen began riding BMX bikes 20 years ago as a hobby after school.

From there, he remains constantly amazed by the experiences it’s given him.

“Many opportunities have grown from being a BMX rider. I’ve met inspiring people, visited interesting and unusual places around the world,” he said.

The newly formed Knightwood BMX Club is based at the leisure centre.

The club is registered with British Cycling and offers discounts to gate practice on Saturday mornings (10am-1pm) as well as entry to club events.

The club’s annual membership is £5 for juniors and £10 for adults.