Two Ledbury men, one a pensioner and the other a doctor, have tackled separate coast-to-coast challenges and raised more than £1,700 between them for charity.

Ledbury town crier Mike Evans, aged 66, crossed some of the toughest terrain in the country last week, tackling the 150 miles from Whitehaven to Sunderland for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The pensioner said of his ordeal: "First I was apprehensive, the weather was mixed but I was on top of the world.

"I came off a couple of times across the moors because some of the tracks were just 2ft wide. Luckily, I did no lasting damage."

Throughout the journey, Mr Evans had the companionship of veteran cyclist David Sparrey, who was in preparation for a John O'Groats to Land's End challenge for Marie Curie in June.

At the end of the journey, with the final tally still to be reckoned up, Mr Evans estimated that £1,000 had been raised for Marie Curie, the charity for which Mr Sparrey is an assistant regional fundraiser.

Mr Evans decided to tackle the 150-mile challenge after he lost a couple of friends to cancer.

To complete the journey, he borrowed a top-class mountain bike from Ledbury cyclist, Steve Hawty

Ledbury doctor Rob Davies, of the Market Surgery, tackled his own coast-to-coast challenge last week, raising £700 for the Cystic Fibrosis charity.

Travelling with 13 other doctors, he tackled the 210 miles from Cardiff to Caernarfon, mainly on minor roads.

Dr Davies said: "It was pretty hard work. There were three river crossings and everyone fell in except for one doctor. But it was fun. I thank the people of Ledbury for their support."

7 Mike Evans during his ride.