Monster hills and the occasional wrong turn were not enough to prevent a group of seven friends from Trowbridge cycling 250 miles from the town hall to the Eiffel Tower in France last week.

The Town 2 Tower team set off on their charity cycling challenge on September 7 with town crier Trevor Heeks and Mayor of Trowbridge Glyn Bridges seeing them off.

After departing from the town, the team headed to Stockbridge in Hampshire, before riding to Portsmouth for an overnight ferry and two days cycling across France, eventually reaching Paris last Thursday.

Money raised by the Town 2 Tower team will go to Bath Cancer Unit Support Group and Wessex MS Therapy Centre in Warminster, with the total currently raised already over £3,000.

Taking on the challenge were Tom Cash, Sam Edwards, Simon Leach, Lauren Leach, Toni-Marie Williams, Laura Silcocks and Charlotte Jordan.

Mr Edwards said: “We had a great time.

“It was tough going at times as our hopes of France being fairly flat were quickly dashed with some monster hills to tackle on route.

“However, what goes up must come down and those bits were particularly enjoyable.

“The weather was very much on our side and the sun cream came out daily.

“We took the occasional wrong turn but soon found ourselves heading in the right direction and only had one real hiccup along the way, that being the need for an unscheduled stop in Winchester on day two for one of the group to have a new back wheel fitted.

“Turning the corner to cycle straight towards the Eiffel Tower was pretty special.

“We all agreed it felt pretty surreal to be Paris once we arrived because we hadn’t flown or got the train.”

Supporters can donate to the Bath Cancer Unit Support Group at www.justgiving.

com/town2tower and to the MS Therapy Centre at http:// uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ town2tower