Pedal power for charity

All geared up: Lee Riley-Thompson (left) and Heath Charnock

COUNTRYSIDE wardens Lee Riley-Thompson and Heath Charnock are swopping spades for cycles for a gruelling 1,000-mile charity ride.

The pair, who work for Oldham Countryside Service, are gearing up to cycle the length of Britain in an ambitious two weeks in a bid to kit out a lifeboatman.

The £1,000 aim of the venture means the duo have to clock up £1 a mile in sponsorship for the ride, which they plan to do in the last two weeks of April.

Lee (33) and Heath (25) are both based at Strinesdale countryside centre, Waterhead, and are raising money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.

Their route starts at the Thurso lifeboat station at Scrabster, in the North-East of Scotland, and ends at the lifeboat station at Sennen Cove, in Cornwall.

“On the way we might as well pop in at John O’Groats and Land’s End too,” said Lee.

The pair last year helped raise £700 for the RNLI when they and a friend cycled from Whitehaven to Tynemouth, but this will be their biggest challenge yet.

“We are doing it out of admiration for what they do,” said Lee. “I am not a seafarer, I wouldn’t be much good in a boat, but I had childhood holidays in Cornwall and I remember seeing lifeboats going out in stormy seas to save lives.

“They don’t get any money from the Government and are all brave volunteers who risk their lives 24 hours a day to help people in distress.”

Lee explained the inspiration behind the idea: “We are both keen recreational cyclists, we both have a massive love of the countryside and nature, and we wanted to travel through the country to see things and meet people.

“We are both fit blokes, we work outside all the time, digging holes, so even though most people do the ride in three weeks, we should be able to do it easily in two weeks – we didn’t want to take any more holidays!”

You can sponsor the pair through www.justgiving.com/cyclingforlifeboats