TWO vets have raised more than £2,000 for disadvantaged pets in West Yorkshire after completing a gruelling 1,000 mile bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Rod Beardshall, from White Cross Vets in Guiseley and James Wood, from the group's Roundhay branch, cycled up to 145 miles a day for seven consecutive days in order to raise money for the White Cross Fund. James’ brother in law, Duncan Tennant also joined the pair on the ride, which took place this month.

The White Cross Fund distributes money to needy and deserving pets in the local community in order to help keep people and their pets together for longer.

Rod said: "This was a gruelling challenge but we’re delighted to have raised more than £2,000 which is a superb figure to reach. Every penny will be used by the White Cross Fund to support pet owners who need financial assistance to pay for lifesaving treatment for their pets. Ultimately, this translates into healthy pets and happy owners that can live together for as long as possible which is something well worth fundraising for."

James added: "Neither of us were prepared for how tough this challenge was. We faced wind and rain on six of the seven days and there were a couple of days when we were riding for up to 14 hours, so it was completely exhausting. However, it’s a huge achievement to complete the challenge but it’s definitely not something I ever want to do again."

Last year the duo successfully completed a one day 129 mile coast to coast cycling challenge from Workington in Cumbria to Sunderland, which includes several punishing climbs, in just nine hours and 20 minutes for the fund.

Anyone still wanting to donate should visit https://www.goldengiving.com/fundraising-team/LEJOG or go to http://www.whitecrossvets.co.uk/white-cross-fund/for more details on the fund.