CHARITY CYCLING CHALLENGE RAISES £33,000 FOR CHILDREN'S HOSPICE

Four cyclists who completed a 327 mile, five day ride from Wiltshire to Cornwall, have raised an astonishing £33,000 for the Children's Hospice South West.

The event - called the SPARATHON - was staged by Gillett's Callington Ltd. to mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of their first SPAR store in Callington.  Today, the company operates 63 SPAR stores throughout the south west.

Nick Kenworthy (Sales and Marketing Director of Appleby Westward), Alan Cookson (Gillett's Callington Ltd I.T. Director), Jason Summerfield (Area Manager, Gillett's Callington Ltd) and Richard Nancarrow (xxxxxxxxxxx) cycled to 30 of the 63 stores in five days and were met by fundraisers at every stage of the journey.

Covering some of the toughest cycling roads in the UK, the team of four left Salisbury and covered over 100 miles in Wiltshire and Dorset on the first day, while the rigours of the second day were relieved with an ice bath and hot showers at the Exeter Chiefs Premiership rugby ground.

The next two days saw them covering various stages throughout Devon and Cornwall before the final leg took them across the finishing line in Hayle.  All the way en route, stores and their local communities supported the event with a whole host of fun days and other fundraising activities. In Budleigh Salterton, a female member of staff raised £495 alone by having her head shaved, while a store in Ashburton raised £1,400 from a day-long fun-packed event involving customers.

Organiser Alan Cookson said: "We were sad when it was over but when we began to hear exactly how much had been raised by our stores and communities, we were just speechless.  It was beyond my wildest dreams and makes it extra special.

"We would like to thank everyone in the business for showing such support along the way, really getting behind it and making a tremendous effort to raise this amount for such a worthy cause."

Nick Kenworthy added: "The challenge was a great opportunity to raise the profile of Children's Hospice South West among the stores and communities they serve while celebrating 30 years of Gillett's trading with SPAR.  It was a huge challenge for those that took part in the ride and in store, but really enjoyable and great fun."

Children's Hospice South West is dedicated to providing the best possible care for life-limited children and their families from across the region at its three hospices at Little Bridge House in North Devon, Charlton Farm in North Somerset, and Little Harbour in Cornwall.