FIREFIGHTERS who tackled the French version of the coast-to-coast cycle ride have returned to Britain.

Peterlee firefighters are now collecting their sponsorship after completing an exhausting journey from Calais to Monte Carlo in five days.

The party of 15 set off from the English Channel on Monday, May 5, and covered 200 miles a day to reach their destination.

The event was designed to round off a year of fundraising at the station, which has resulted in about £15,000 being raised for the NSPCC. A small proportion of the money will go to the Fire Service Benevolent Fund.

Big Brother contestant Jonny Regan was on the station's fundraising committee before he left to pursue his media career.

Many of the bicycles used on the trip had been donated from North-East companies, and the firefighters are considering raffling them off to raise more funds.

One of the cyclists, Alan Renshaw, from Chester-le-Street, said: "It was absolutely fantastic.

"We had a couple of mechanical faults, when one of the bikes had a blow-out on both tyres at the same time and the rider almost ended up in front of a car on the other side of the road.

"Some sessions were a struggle, but we completed it in better time than we thought we would.

"We were hoping to complete the ride and have a couple of days in Monte Carlo, but it was too expensive - you'd need to be a multi-millionaire."