FOUR North-East charities have received a cash boost after ten npower employees got on their bikes to raise money through a coast-to-coast bike ride.

The workers covered 190 miles from Whitehaven, in Cumbria, to Tynemouth, in North Tyneside, raising £1,400.

The team collected £900, and npower donated a further £500 through its Community Volunteers scheme to North-East Children's Cancer Research, Macmillan Nurses, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and St Cuthbert's Care.

The power company takes an active role in community projects and voluntary organisations across the region, and is the main sponsor of The Northern Echo's Local Heroes Awards, which takes place next week. The awards celebrate grassroots sports in the region, and will take place on Thursday at Tall Trees Hotel, near Yarm, Teesside.

Gary Doig, npower's community relations manager for the North-East, said: "It had been a long-standing ambition of mine to complete a coast-to-coast bike ride, so when I heard about this I thought it was the ideal opportunity to fulfil my ambition and raise money for charity at the same time."

This year's Local Heroes Awards will feature a Leading Light category, which was put forward by npower to recognise voluntary work in a community.