STAFF from the Pool Medical Centre in Studley have pedalled their way to raising nearly £5,500 for the British Heart Foundation.

GP Peter Harris, nurse Katriona Collins, and co-riders Lyndsey Kirby and Sally Abel all set out from Greenwich Park in London, to cycle all the way to Paris for the charity.

They cycled 270 miles over three days along with 29 other teams of riders, raising sponsorship through friends and patients at the medical centre.

After training rides at weekends the team had grown accustomed to distances of 50 or 60 miles a day, but even that did not prepare them for days of as many as 90 miles.

Peter was a little surprised by the terrain.

He said: "I thought northern France was going to be flat.

"I was wrong, but I was disappointed to finish it in the end. I think we all were."

The staff wanted to do something to show their appreciation to the British Heart Foundation after being donated a defribillator several months ago by the charity, and have managed to raise £5,300 so far, with several donations still to come in.

Peter added: "The original target was £4,000, but our patients went a long way to sponsoring us."