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Cycle hire firm Mobike is pulling all of its bikes out of Newcastle and Gateshead.

The company has confirmed that it is suspending its North East operation, moving hundreds of its distinctive orange and silver bikes from Tyneside to London.

It comes after months of speculation over the cycle sharing service's future in the region, amid concerns about vandalism - with many bikes seen dumped in the River Tyne or abandoned elsewhere.

Mobike said it would consider making a return to Tyneside in future, but is pulling out from the beginning of May to "increase the sustainability of our UK business".

The move will come as a blow to council bosses, who have long hailed the cycle sharing scheme - which allows users to pick up bikes dotted across the area using a mobile app - as offering a cleaner mode of transport for people to get around the city.

Civic centre chiefs on Tyneside are preparing to impose some form of clean air tolls on the region's roads and are desperate for drivers to ditch their cars in a bid to cut pollution levels.

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Jan Van der Ven, general manager of Mobike Western Europe said: "We have enjoyed serving Newcastle and Gateshead and have received great support from the people of the city, the city councils and Northumbria Police. However, in order to increase the sustainability of our UK business we will focus on developing our operations in London during the rest of the year, and therefore - regrettably - we will be suspending services in Newcastle for now.

"This is hopefully not a final farewell. We plan to remain engaged with the city councils of Newcastle and Gateshead, as well as the local business community, and we will remain open to revisit our decision in future."

Mobike - which says it is now focused on London, Oxford, and Cambridge - confirmed that it will refund Newcastle and Gateshead users' deposits and Mobike wallet balances during the month of May. Users will not be required to apply for refunds as balances will be automatically returned.

An initial 450 bikes were introduced in Newcastle in 2017, before an additional 500 were added the following February and a further 200 when the scheme was extended to Gateshead last June.

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Newcastle City Council said last summer that it was working with Mobike to address problems with lost and damaged bikes, and wanted the scheme to stay in the city.

Just last week, the authority said that a prospective electric bike sharing scheme that it is in talks to bring to Newcastle would be working alongside the existing Mobike offering.