A GROUP of pub regulars are getting on their bikes to raise money for a hospice.

Twenty-one riders will pedal the 195 miles from Edinburgh Castle to the Whitehills pub in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, to support the work of St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham City.

The sponsored ride will start on Friday, June 12, and after overnight stops at Berwick and Ashington, is due to arrive at the pub on Sunday, June 14, towards the end of a family fun day the pub will hold.

One of the riders, Mark Worthy, of Chester-le-Street, a council highways worker, said: “A few of the lads have had relatives in the hospice and we decided one day we were going to do something for a good cause.

“With St Cuthbert’s being a local charity we thought we would give something back in to the community.

“We have all been practising. We are all getting there and have been doing 30/40-mile runs and we are getting out three or four times a week.

“It has cost us a fair few quid because a lot of us didn’t have bikes and we have had to go out and buy them.

“We are getting good sponsorship support from family, friends and colleagues and we are doing better than I thought we would do.”

A family bingo night will be held at 7pm at the pub on May 2, and is nearly sold out.

The fun day will feature stalls, bouncy castles and will be held from noon to 5pm.

Mr Worthy said Paul Jameson, whose idea the ride was, was one of the riders who had a relative cared for by the hospice.

To sponsor the riders and got more information about the fun day, go to the Whitehills, in Waldridge Road, where there are sponsor forms and collecting tins.