A DETERMINED team of Somerset cyclists completed a gruelling 980 mile cycle and raised more than £15,000 for charity.

Richard Campbell, Simon Walsh, Jamie Saunders, all from Burnham-on-Sea and friends Max Collingwood and Ben Bowley from North Petherton, set off on the cycle from John O'Groats to Lands End (JOGTLE) to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK in memory of Richard's father-in-law, Malcolm Troy, who died of pancreatic cancer in December 2015, aged 59.

The team embarked on the challenge on July 31, which would have been Malcolm's birthday and completed the cycle on August 5, raising £8,398 for the charity.

Richard said: "The last 13 days have been incredible.

"We have all agreed that this has been the hardest, longest, funniest and most rewarding trip ever.

"The weather definitely wasn't on our side - in fact we only had two days where we didn't have any rain - and there were moments where we faced real challenges.

"But we never thought it would be easy, and it has been totally worth it to raise such a huge amount of money for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

"We were completely overwhelmed when we reached Land's End, where so many of our friends and families had turned up to cheer us over the finish line.

"The incredible support we had during the entire ride, not just from our friends and families but from total strangers we met along the way, really spurred us on. "

The team's support driver, Kevin Stratton also ran 13 half marathons in 13 days at the same time as the cyclists and Richard's wife, Charlotte, completed the London Marathon earlier this year and raised £7,000 for the charity bumping their total amount raised up to more than £15,000.

Richard added: "We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has sponsored us - the total we've managed to raise is completely beyond what we ever imagined we'd be able to get.

"We hope that it goes towards making a real difference to the lives of those affected by pancreatic cancer."