A SMALL team of volunteers from Bolton raised £7,000 for The Christie by cycling 63 miles.

Workers at Bolton Gate Company Limited, a door and shutter manufacturing company, cycled from Old Trafford football stadium to the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool in aid of the charity.

The team of six cyclists raised a grand total of £3,800 from the eight-hour bike ride, but their company doubled this to £7,650.

They decided to raise funds for The Christie as several members of staff have been treated there before.

Andrew Marsh, the company’s export manager, was delighted with the group’s achievement, given none of them had taken part in a cycling challenge before.

Mr Marsh, aged 42, of Westhoughton, said: “It was a really hard slog — none of us had done anything like it before.

“There were a few aches and pains when we finished, but The Christie is a cause which is really close to our hearts, so it was a very rewarding feeling.”

The group had initially joked about doing the challenge, but eventually decided to go through with it — with some members realising they might be missing one important element.

Mr Marsh said: “We weren’t serious about doing it at first, but then we thought ‘why not’. The only problem was some of us then realised we didn’t even have bikes!

“It all worked out though and I’m overjoyed that we raised so much.”

The group’s bike ride took them through Westhough-ton, Standish, Preston, Lytham and Blackpool.

If anyone would like to donate further to Bolton Gate Company Limited’s bike ride, they can visit www.justgiving.com/BoltonGateCo/