CYCLING enthusiasts Lee Gowland and Phil Jones aim to complete one of the most gruelling routes in Europe this month in aid of two local charities.

The County Durham pair will spend their summer holidays cycling across the backbone of the French Pyrenees.

In just ten days they will ride 827km from Cerbere on the Mediterranean coast to the town of Hendaye on the Bay of Biscay.

Each day they will face a different challenge cycling for at least six hours up some of the steepest mountain ranges in the world - many of which form the famous Tour de France route.

Lee, an accountant from Etherley Dene, hopes to raise £1,000 for The Butterwick Hospice, in Bishop Auckland.

The 32-year-old said: "It is a local charity, helping people facing cancer so I want to try and help a cause on the doorstep."

Phil, an accounts manager from Toft Hill, has a similar sponsorship target which he will donate to a regional motor neurone charity inspired by his uncle, George Brown, of Ferryhill, who has had the condition for ten years.

The 34-year-old said: "It is one of the hardest things you can do on a bike which is why we want to complete it, the sense of achievement and inspiration for the charities will help us."

Both have completed tough rides before, including a trek through the Himalayas in 2001, but admit this will be one of the toughest they have faced.

A third cyclist, Stewart Ellis, of Cumbria, will join the pair and a friend will drive the route acting as a back-up for the team.