A CHARITY bike ride has pulled a community together and looks like becoming an annual event.

A total of 28 cyclists from the York Inn, in Churchinford, pedalled for 58 miles from London to Brighton, raising £10,752 for Bike4cancer.

Landlord Paul Thomas, who has been treated for cancer, hit on the idea of taking part after one of his customers told him that he too had battled cancer.

"In the end, there were four of us who have had cancer," said Mr Thomas, a former police officer in London.

"We did a lot of training beforehand, cycling up and down the Blackdown Hills, so we didn't have too many aching muscles the next day.

"It was a fantastic day that brought the whole village together and we had a huge party after we got back home.

"Thanks to the riders, families, sponsors and locals at the pub, we managed to raise a staggering amount for Bike4cancer, which provides respite care for cancer sufferers and their families.

The cyclists, who set off at 4am and didn't get back until midnight, were accompanied by a back up team in two minibuses and a van.

Following their efforts, Mr Thomas and his co-riders have got the cycling bug and are already making plans for their own sponsored event next year a bit closer to home.

They plan to bike 70 miles from the North Somerset coast down to the sea in Dorset on September 10, raising money for the Blackdown Hills community bus and the Beacon Centre cancer unit at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital, where some of them have been treated.

Mr Thomas, who only discovered he had Non-Hodgkin lymphoma after he went over the handlebars while cycling and punctured a lung in 2013, said: "We really enjoyed the ride, but felt we wanted to do something nearer and for all the money we raise to stay in the county.

"I'd like to think it could become an annual event."

Anyone interested in taking part or sponsoring the riders can contact Mr Thomas via 3countiescoast2coast@gmail.com