GLASGOW was ranked as one of Scotland's top performing councils when it comes to cycling, a new report unveiled by newsreader Jon Snow, revealed.

The Channel 4 news ­anchor was at the Emirates Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome yesterday to lead the annual Cycling Scotland Conference.

The study by Cycling Scotland analysed the performance of every Scots council in developing policy to get more people on their bikes.

It came after the Evening Times revealed on October 9 that the number of bike users in the city had grown from 3000 to 7000 in a year.

We told how there has been a 133% increase in the number of cyclists travelling into Glasgow city ­centre every day in the past five years.

Campaigner Mr Snow, who is also president of the Cyclists' Touring Club, said making the activity safer was a major priority.

He said: "Having the right infrastructure is vital to getting people out on their bikes.

"Good quality segregated cycle lanes make cycling safer and give people who are nervous about mixing with traffic the confidence to travel through towns and cities on a bike.

"This type of infrastructure has to be planned, ­designed and installed at a local level, and so local ­authority commitment is essential.

"It is great to be able to track this commitment at an individual council level and I hope this report inspires all councils to push forward with their efforts to encourage more cycling journeys."

Glasgow came out on top in the report along with Edinburgh, Fife, Clackmannanshire and Aberdeeenshire.

The report said this was due to projects such as the Connect 2, which helped to complete the Bridge to ­Nowhere over the M8 and connect cycle routes from Kelvingrove Park to Glasgow Central Station.

It was found that 4.2% of the population cycle to work regularly and 23.2% of households have access to a bike.

Chief executive of Cycling Scotland, Ian Aitken, said: "I hope that the analysis in the report, along with the areas for development we've highlighted, will support more local authorities to develop local cycling strategies."

Transport Minister Keith Brown said everyone must do more to increase cycling. He added: "Over the past year I have had numerous meetings with key stakeholders to discuss what interventions will move us forward on cycling.

"Community links and safe routes to school, as well as education and training, are vital if we are to realise our shared 10% ­vision for cycling and for a healthier nation."