Trowbridge Rugby Club is hoping to have raised around £5,000 for military charity Help For Heroes after holding two sponsored bike rides last weekend.

The club organised the rides to raise funds for both the charity, which helps injured servicemen and women, and the club itself.

One ride featured five club members cycling almost 380 miles from Newcastle to the club in 24 hours.

The second had club members attempting to cover 1,000 miles on six exercise bikes at the club house, also over a 24-hour period.

Both rides concluded on Sunday, when the team of five arrived at the clubhouse at 11am.

The cyclists based at the club had covered 1,100 miles since they began pedalling at noon on Saturday.

Derek Tucker, head of mini rugby at the club, took part in the Newcastle journey.

He said: “It was good, we had no real problems. We started our main run on Friday morning.

“The weather was pretty atrocious, but on Saturday it was the opposite. We arrived at the club on Sunday morning at about 11. We covered about 390 miles on the road.

“The club bike ride went very well, they covered 1,100 miles. There were people literally sleeping at the club on Saturday night. They were pedalling until two or three in the morning, and then they were up serving cooked breakfast at 8am on Sunday. Both events were really well supported across the whole club.”

The cyclists coming down from Newcastle took turns in the saddle to cover the distance, and apart from a few punctures enjoyed a smooth ride.

Mr Tucker said: “Everyone enjoyed the experience, we made it more of a fun thing than anything too arduous.

“All five of us came in together at the end and it was a good feeling to see the club at the end of the drive.”

The club had set itself a total fundraising target of £10,000, which will be split evenly between the club and Help For Heroes.

Mr Tucker added: “There were an awful lot of people involved across the whole weekend, from the club president down to four-year-old children.

“We’re still collecting the money, it will take two or three weeks, but we’re hoping to get close to our target.

“We’ve got a lot of sponsorship money to get in. There are too many people to name, but thanks to everyone who was involved.”