Lisa Rendell (29), of Deacon Close, and Jim Howard (38), of Fothergill Close, took part in the coast-to-coast ride from Whitehaven to Sunderland with 50 others between June 12 and 14.

Mr Howard, who lives with his wife Val and daughter Ella (6), took part in the event last year after hearing about it on the Sunderland Football Club website forum.

Miss Rendell, who is a cycling novice, decided to join him on the trip this year.

Her boyfriend, Mitchell May, who works as a maintenance man at the Three Swans Hotel, in High Street, Harborough, was the support driver for the pair and met them at points along the route to give them food and water.

She said: “I wanted to take part because Jim had described his last trip as fun.

“It was really hard work but well worth it.

“The third day was tough because it was the longest. We did 56 miles on that day but there were some downhill roads, which helped.”

The pair raised about £1,000 between them in sponsorship but it is expected the whole group raised about £12,000.

Miss Rendell and Mr Howard, who became friends after meeting on a night out at the Square 53 bar in Harborough, have chosen to donate their money to the charity Help for Heroes, which supports servicemen and women wounded in conflict.

Miss Rendell added: “I want to say a big thank you to Mitch who kept us going with food and drink.

“He also took a lot of our luggage in the car too and helped us get sponsorship.”

The trio are planning to take part again next year.