A cyclist has raised more than £2,500 for charity after pedalling 2,000km around Central America.

Piers Mudd, from Thirsk, donated the money to the East Cleveland Housing Trust, which supports young people in need of accommodation and training.

It is one of the many organisations supported by the Rank Foundation, which gave Mr Mudd a scholarship to help him study his A-levels.

He set off on his expedition in March and, over a four-week period, he was forced to overcome the language barrier, the sticky, tropical heat and bureaucracy problems.

He was hit by cars twice, but the only mechanical difficulty he encountered was a puncture.

Throughout the trip, he travelled an average of 100km every day and was fuelled by 180 tortillas, 290 litres of water, 43 mangoes and 37 beers.

However, he was forced to abandon his plans for the last 500km of the ride after being warned by the former British military attach to Guatemala of a number of bandit attacks on tourists in the area.

Mr Mudd said: "Spurious rumour and gossip on the backpacker grapevine is one thing, but considered advice from a professional and experienced military source is another."