The classess will teach the drivers to anticipate how cyclists will behave on the road and how to minimise the danger of cyclists being killed or injured.
 
The drivers will then get onto bikes themselves and be given practical off-road and on road cycle training, to give them greater understanding about cycling and give them a chance to see what it feels like to be a cyclist on a road with other traffic, including large vehicles like the ones they drive.

The local authority is believed to be the first council in London to give this kind of training to its staff.

As well as the training, signs will be installed on the back of Lambeth's fleet of vehicles to warn cyclists of the dangers of cycling inside a lorry or bus.

More than half of all cycle deaths on the capital's roads follow a collision with a goods vehicle.

The initiatives have been developed in partnership with the council's environmental contractor, Veolia Environmental Services, and Cycle Training UK.