Pedal power raises £9k for war heroes

Published on Friday 28 August 2009 22:49

A GROUP of military personnel completed a 650-mile bike ride in aid of the war charity Help for Heroes yesterday.

The cyclists left London on Saturday morning and reached RAF Kinloss in Moray shortly before noon yesterday.

They estimate that, when all donations are collected, they will have raised 9,000 for Help for Heroes, which supports servicemen and women injured in Britain's current conflicts.

The cyclists, who had set an initial target of 5,000, left the Ministry of Defence HQ in Whitehall last Saturday at 7:30am.

Cycling an average of 100 miles a day, they spent their nights in service accommodation, Scout huts and with family members to ensure all proceeds went directly to the charity.

The group comprises seven officers from RAF Kinloss and an employee from BAE Systems, Dave Cawthorn.

He said: "We did a lot of training for this, but you are still going into the unknown, so it's great to have done it and to have had such a great reception at Kinloss.

"You do have your moments of doubt, but you just have to think of those who are worse off than you, and that keeps you going," he said. "A couple of the guys had been out to Basra recently, so it helped having them there."

Help for Heroes, which was formed by Bryn and Emma Parry, has inspired a series of high-profile campaigns.