TWO school friends have put their circus skills to good use in a sponsored unicycle ride.

Alex McAulay, 13 from Skeeby, near Richmond, and Jason Ayre, 12, from Richmond, raised £170 for Children in Need when they unicycled 4.4 miles from the town's Holly Hill Inn to the village of Downholme.

They learnt to unicycle at Richmond School's circus club and can also juggle and play unicycle hockey.

Alex said: "It was hard work and quite tiring but it was worth it. We will probably do it again next year, but go there and back instead of just one way.

"The circus club is really good fun and we played unicycle hockey against the British champions last month. We even beat them in a couple of games."

The pair added to the total by having a stall at Richmond School Fair and making their school friends guess how long the sponsored ride took.