From London to Paris – by bike

THREE council officers have got on their bikes and cycled more than 300 miles from London to Paris for charity.

Mike McCauley from Llanelli, Barrie Davies from Five Roads and Iwan Richards from Llanelli, all work in the council’s Technical Services department and were joined by Karl Hanbury from Five Roads, a director at 3Ks Engineering in Llanelli, and John Coffey from Pontarddulais, an IT manager with Agresso for the four-day challenge.

Starting at Tower Bridge in London, the five spent around eight hours a day in the saddle, travelling an average of 80 miles each day, finally finishing in the French capital on the same day as the finale of the famous Tour de France bike race.

They have raised an incredible £9,000 for Action Medical Research, a children’s charity dedicated to improving the health of babies and children in the UK.

Waste services officer Mike said: “This is the second year I have taken part and it was quite tough because it was so hot but we had lots of support along the way to help keep us going.

“It is a very worthy charity and together we have raised a fantastic sum of money which will help to fund a range of medical research projects in conditions affecting babies and children. We are very grateful for all the generous donations and would like to say a big thank you to all those that sponsored us.”

For almost 60 years Action Medical Research has been behind numerous breakthroughs such as the UK polio vaccine, ultrasound scanning in pregnancy, and more recently the fetal heart rate monitor a new state-of-the-art device that could help save thousands of at-risk babies.