Burning a charity trail in France.

A HARDY bunch of firefighters is planning to tackle a Gallic version of the coast-to-coast cycle ride.

The party of 14 riders and support crew leaves Peterlee Fire Station, in east Durham, in early May for a cross-Channel journey to the starting point of the cycle challenge, in Calais.

Over the following six days they intend to ride across France from the English Channel coast to the glitz of Monte Carlo in the Mediterranean principality of Monaco.

At any one time, three riders will be on the road, taking turns in one-hour stints in the saddle, for ten hours a day.

They are on a tight schedule to complete the ride in six days, as, with only a day to sample the sights of Monte Carlo, they must return to work in Peterlee.

The riders will be accompanied by a back-up minibus and support vehicle, crewed by colleagues, who will motor ahead to prepare meals and overnight camp stops.

Sub-officer Ted Freeman said the proceeds will be split between the station's dedicated children's charity, the NSPCC, and the Fire Service Benevolent Fund.

"We set ourselves a target of £10,000 and even though we haven't been collecting during the industrial action, we've already reached £13,000 and I imagine we could raise £15,000.

"We've received a lot of help and donations, which have allowed us to plough in as much of the money we've raised as possible to give to the charities."

He said a proportion of the money was already earmarked for equipment at the fire service rehabilitation centre, at Penrith, in Cumbria.

Among the equipment donors are Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Brigade, Strawberry and Giant cycles, Asda store, in Peterlee, the Great Outdoors, in Sunderland, and Euro Tunnels, which supplied free passes for the party.

Age no barrier - just cricket

A GROUP of friends with the average age of 75 are to embark on a 180-mile cycle ride.

In a show of fitness that would shame even the most active of gym-goers, John Wilson, a retired financial advisor, plans to cycle coast to coast, from Tynemouth to Workington, later this year.

Mr Wilson, from Newton Hall, Durham, took up cycling again four years ago after a triple heart bypass.

Two years after his bypass he embarked on his first coast-to-coast ride, training daily on his vintage bicycle he has owned for 70 years.

Now he is preparing for his next ride in September, when he will be accompanied by two retired friends, Neville Preston, from Darlington, and Harry Witherspoon, from Halifax, West Yorkshire.

The friends are all keen cricket fans and members of Durham County Cricket Club and meet up when matches take place at the club's ground in Chester-le-Street.

They will be accompanied by 81-year-old support driver Tom Morgan, from Wales, who was in the Royal Air Force with John 60 years ago.

Mr Wilson said: "Harry had wanted to do this for his 70th birthday last year, but we had to put it off. We're now doing the ride in September - after the cricket has finished. of course. I wouldn't miss a game of cricket."