FOUR friends are taking part in the ultimate bike ride — to raise money for Wigan and Leigh Hospice.

Michael Southern, Adrian Stoneley and David Rogers are in the middle of a challenge to cycle 1,000 miles from John O'Groats to Lands End over ten days.

The adventure seekers, accompanied by their friend Keith Morris, are cycling more than 100 miles a day.

Father-of-four Michael Southern, of Butts Bridge in Leigh, said: "We are keen cyclists and we do like doing things like this and this is the biggest ride that you can do in this country and we wanted to tie it in with charity as well.

"In the past we've raised money for Marie Curie, CLIC Sargent and The Christie, but after deliberating I thought we'd raise money for the local community hence Wigan and Leigh Hospice.

"We have set up a just giving page and people have been sponsoring us at work as well so we are up to £795 now which is great."

The group set off on the gruelling challenge on June 24. The traditional distance by road is 874 miles but Mick's group will be making an added trip to the Isle of Skye.

Mr Southern, who is a heavy goods driver for Sainsbury's, added: "We have probably been training for about six months, doing 100 mile bike rides and things like that all through winter and just basically getting on the bike as much as we can.

"It is a bit daunting, like we are thinking have we bitten off more than we can chew but we are hoping that we will have a clear run, with no accidents or injuries."

To sponsor the group on their cycle go to: https://www.justgiving.com/MichaelSouthern/