A SPONSORED 210 mile cycle ride from Hartlepool to Edinburgh following the ‘Coast and Castles’ route and a £5,000 anonymous donation has raised £10,000 for the Hartlepool RNLI.

Sleeping on lifeboat station floors at Amble and Eyemouth the six hardy cyclists – three crew members, Tom Collins, Andrew Johnson and Darren Killick and fellow cyclists Steve Bell, Noel Cornforth and Wayne Platt – took three days to reach Edinburgh Castle.

Cyclist Steve Bell said: "The three day journey was very demanding in parts with some of the hills pushing our fitness levels to the limit but the scenery along the route was outstanding."

Darren Killick a crew member at the Ferry Road lifeboat station said: "Despite the team suffering a total of 12 punctures, a couple of ‘fallers’ and a few ‘near misses’ it’s certainly been a journey myself and the team will never forget and to top it all that fantastic anonymous donation of £5,000 was extremely generous.

"Most importantly we have raised some money to help save lives at sea."

CHEQUE PRESENTATION

Speaking after the cheque presentation that was held in the 'Fishermans Arms' at the Headland the Hartlepool RNLI Lifeboats Operations Manager Chris Hornsey said: "This is a fantastic amount of money that the team have raised from their bike ride along with the amazing very generous donation to double the amount.

"Well done to everyone involved. The money will help provide our volunteer crew members with the best kit, training and running costs at the station."