Charity joy for councillors

Newark and Sherwood District Council chairman Dennis Jones and his Ashfield District Council counterpart Linford Gibbons completed the gruelling 170 mile ride to raise funds for Help the Heroes and Rainbows Children’s Hospice.

The ride took two days to complete and began in Morecombe on Easter Sunday.

Day one saw the energetic riders tackle 109 miles of the more difficult terrain with the Pennine slopes proving a real battle.

But the journey, from the Lancashire to the Yorkshire coast, became even more complicated when their support vehicle broke down near York and needed a replacement drive-belt.

Coun Jones said: “It was a really tough ride coming over the Pennines, particularly around Settle and Pateley Bridge, and then after all those big climbs, the car broke down.

“The breakdown chap said that the nearest place to get the part would be back in Bury, with it being a Bank Holiday, but we had a ride round York and managed to find what we needed.

“The support vehicle was supposed to be supporting us but it ended up the other way round!

“That delayed us quite a bit but the second day of the ride was nowhere near as hard as the first and we were in Bridlington by tea-time for some very welcome fish and chips.”

However, there is no let up for the next Bank Holiday for the intrepid duo who will be taking on a 24-hour mountain scramble up Britain’s three highest mountains to raise cash for charity.

This time the team aim to overcome the Three Peaks Challenge, comprising Ben Nevis, near Fort William in Scotland, Scafell Pike in the Lake District and Snowdon in North Wales.

The aim is to climb the three summits – travelling by car for 462 miles between the three locations - within 24 hours.

If you would like to contribute to his chosen charities contact CounJones direct or go to his JustGiving page http://www.justgiving.com/dennis-jones5.