Rugby league players proved bright sparks as they helped to kick off a three-day science and technology festival in Manchester.

Hundreds of schoolchildren descended on Manchester Central for the start of the Big Bang event.

And the trio from Wigan Warriors helped to light up one experiment on show using pedal power to switch on a car headlight bulb.

They competed against a mystery cyclist called Morph, who was dressed in orange Lycra, with the Super League stars cycling for 10 seconds each.

They managed to reach up to 216 watts and rode the bike with so much power one of the chains flew off during a particularly enthusiastic attempt. Warriors player Stuart Howarth said: “We are trying to encourage children to get into science. If you get on a bike and prove it can be fun people will be encouraged to do it.”

Everything used in the experiment was created from scrap metal.

The University of Central Lancashire’s Dr Joanna Heaton, who ran the cycling experiment, said: “We are trying to show kids that science is fun and it has a use.”

  • A coffee-fuelled car has travelled 210 miles from London to Manchester for the Big Bang event. The vehicle, dubbed the car-puccino, is powered by used coffee grounds. It is the creation of engineer Jem Stansfield, presenter of the BBC1’s Bang Goes The Theory, who drove it from the capital.