EMPLOYEES at a cheese factory in Westbury cycled a combined total of 1,350 miles to raise money for a charity in the town.

Around 30 of Savencia’s 90 staff took part in the week-long challenge last month, taking it in turns to cycle on the stationary bike located in the factory on The Ham, raising money for Crosspoint Westbury with every push of the pedal.

They aimed to raise £500 to give to the charity, but smashed their fundraising target and ended up raising £800.

Organiser Robert Jones, Savencia’s health and safety manager, said: “We chose to raise money for Crosspoint because we admire the work they do within our local community.

“They not only help people who are distressed, they also assist people with their CVs and make it easier for them to find employment.

“They are an integral part of the community, and it’s important that companies such as Savencia raise funds for them so they can carry on their important work.

“It was good fun getting up on the bike, too, for most people at least.”

The person to ride the most combined miles was Paul Scrimgeour, who managed to surpass everyone else’s overall distance by riding 500 miles on his own.

As a result, he receives an extra day of holiday and a fire alarm from Savencia as a reward, which ties in with it being the factory’s annual Health and Safety Week.

Jessica Nel, Crosspoint’s administrator, said: “We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part at Savencia, it was a huge effort and the money raised will go towards helping people in need.

“At Crosspoint, we don’t just want to temporarily help people, we do our best to permanently fix their problems.”

To find out more about Crosspoint’s services, visit: www.crosspoint-westbury.co.uk.

Crosspoint acts as a meeting place and drop-in point for people with either emotional, psychological, health, housing or financial needs, offering help including Its supportive staff provide support to those people through services including a foodbank, CV preparation, free phone and computer access and more.

The charity received a Civic Award from the mayor of Westbury in March, recognising its hard work and importance in the town.