A TEAM of cyclists from the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment have taken on a gruelling 500-mile cycle for the Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity – and raised thousands of pounds in the process.

The group of ten, who are based at Merville Barracks in Colchester, decided to organise the fundraiser – which involved cycling 500 miles of Scottish coastline – after the daughter of one of the team was involved in a serious horse-riding accident.

It was after her admission to the paediatrics unit at Ipswich Hospital that the fundraiser was put together, when it transpired that the paediatric unit was fundraising for the final £43,000 chunk of cash to go towards refurbishing the ward.

The cycle itself took place over five days at the beginning of September, and Brad Clements – one of the key organisers of the fundraiser – said although the refurbishment wasn’t needed to treat his colleague’s daughter, the team was still keen to give the charity something back.

It turned out to be quite a lot, with £6,430 raised so far.

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Mr Clements said: “The equipment wasn’t necessary for her, but we did say we would do a charity event for the paediatric unit.

“The North Coast 500 is a really testing event – it’s one of the biggest British tourism attractions [for cyclists], so everyone who is in to camping and cycling will know about it.”

Starting at Inverness Castle in the highlands, the cyclists travelled to the west coast before heading to the northern tip of John O’Groats, and then returned down the east coast to finish where they started.

Although Mr Clements, 35, is an avid cyclist, he admitted the weather conditions made it as much a challenge for him as it did for his teammates.

He said: “The Scottish weather was pretty horrendous, and the first day was the best day [weather wise] – after that, there were times when we were pedalling against 25 mile per hour crosswinds.”

He added: “We have left the donation page open, because our plan is to arrange a meeting with the hospital and get a cheque pedalled down there for us to hand over."

Any donations can be made via: bit.ly/3SoWOgy.