A Birmingham election candidate has admitted she would not feel safe cycling around the city’s busy commuter routes.

Edgbaston Conservative candidate Caroline Squire joined Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling for a Facebook Live interview with Birmingham Mail readers.

And with the focus on transport they faced a series of questions about cycling and cycle routes - being asked would they like to cycle on Birmingham’s busy roads.

Ms Squire said: “There’s the plan for a new cycle pathway through Birmingham which seems to be progressing. People seem very enthusiastic about that.”

She talked about investing in cycling to get traffic off the busy Hagley Road and Bristol Road commuter routes.

Caroline Squire and Chris Grayling

“I’m not sure at the moment I’d want to cycle down those myself,” she admitted.

While side stepping the question of whether he would take a bike on Birmingham’s rush hour streets, Mr Grayling did confirm that the Conservatives are committed to raising spending on cycling across the country to a billion pounds by 2020.

And added that funds have already been invested in schemes - these include Birmingham’s Cycle Revolution project.

Mr Grayling said: “What we’ve done is dramatically increase the amount of money we spend on cycling. It’s an important part of urban transport. It’s got to be done in the right way so that all the different road users co-exist and you maximise the safety factor.”

He said that key areas of investment include cycle routes and more cycle storage facilities at railway stations - although those decisions on where to invest would be taken by the West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Birmingham City Council.

Mr Grayling was also asked about whether he thought speed cameras are a ‘stealth tax’.

“My own view is that more effective than speed cameras are the reminder signs which, if you’re driving at 35mph in a 30mph limit they flash and tell you you’re travelling too fast. The evidence is that they are pretty effective in getting people to slow down.”

He urged council’s to use more of these reminder signs and added that speed cameras should only be used for safety reasons, not as a cash raising tool.