GET your hands on a free pedometer and take your first steps to a more active lifestyle with Herefordshire Council’s Living Streets Challenge.

The online scheme is aiming to get the county on its feet, letting people track the distance they’ve walked in miles, muffins burned off, or laps of an athletics track.

It also logs how many total miles Herefordians have notched up, and offers every participant a free water bottle to make sure they stay hydrated through even the most leisurely of strolls.

With an estimated 10,000 journeys of less than two miles made every morning in Hereford alone, the Council is keen for people to look at alternative ways of getting to work.

And on Monday it is launching its own ‘Walking Challenge’, encouraging people to log their miles for 11 days with all entrants entered into a draw to win £150 for some new footwear.

To sign up visit the website here, and if you’d like a free pedometer to count your steps you can e.mail the council’s 'Choose How U Move' team at move@herefordshire.gov.uk .