CYCLISTS pedalled more than 600 miles to raise cash for a new roof for their beloved local church, without leaving town.

Sally Belzoni-Champollion and her fiancé David Ransom embarked on a Ride For The Roof to raise money for repairs to the roof of St. Gregory’s church, Bedale.

The Cyclathon, over 57 hours, was a non-stop event using static bikes loaned by Cowley’s Cycles of Northallerton. During the day they set up outside the church, moving inside to the Chantry Hall at night.

Sally, suffers from myalgic encephalomyelitis, ME, and fibromyalgia, and says she has always found St. Gregory’s to be a safe haven.

As a thank you, Sally and fiancé David, an architectural technician and a retained firefighter, with friend Nick Metcalfe decided to see how many miles they could ride, backed by friends, family, congregation and members of the public.

A ‘Guess The Mileage’ competition was also run to win a bottle of champagne, donated by Paul Carnell Bookkeeping of Bedale. The final total being 615 miles.

Rev Robinson said:” We want to give a special thank you to Sally, David and Mark for their dedication and to all those who supported them over the weekend. The total raised so far is an amazing £678.”