A CYCLING trio has completed the Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge and raised £85,000 for the children’s charity, Dreams Come True.

Runcorn MP Graham Evans met the riders from Cash Converter when they stopped off at their company’s headquarters in Aston Lane.

Staff at the Runcorn offices welcomed them by staging a sponsored static bike marathon and took it in turns to keep the wheels turning.

They also organised a movie star fancy dress parade and barbecue for the team.

The £85,000 raised will grant the wishes of seriously and terminally ill children, which includes fulfilling dreams of meeting pop stars, memorable day trips and amazing holidays.

Mr Evans said: “The team at Cash Converters has taken on an ambitious challenge and I am delighted to be supporting them.

“They have raised such a fantastic amount for children’s charity Dreams Come True.

“It is always great to join charitable ventures in Weaver Vale. I was overwhelmed by the levels of enthusiasm and support I saw from all of the staff in Runcorn, and I look forward to learning about how the money raised has supported young people with life threatening illness live their dreams.”

The team, including Carl Murray, Paul Graham and Richard Addison, made the welcomed break in Runcorn, before heading off again to complete their 1,000 mile journey.

By the time they reached Runcorn, they had already raised £70,314 – almost 75 per cent of their fundraising total.

Carl Murray said: “It’s been a tough challenge, we’ve had baking sunshine through to storms, but it’s all for such a great cause and when we made it to John O’Groats.

“ It was such an incredible achievement. We’ve had fantastic support from everyone and we are truly grateful for it.”

It took 11 days for them to complete their gruelling marathon.

David Patrick, chief executive of Cash Converters, said: “I am so proud of the team who take on such a tremendous challenge with an ambitious fundraising total.

“They faced temperatures of 30 degrees celsius for much of their journey, while facing climbs of over 19,000 metres. It was truly a laudable feat.

“As a company, we’ve supported Dreams Come True over the past five years and in that time, raised in excess of £150,000. So the additional £85,000 raised by the team will go a long way towards helping children who really need it.”

People can still donate by texting DCTC01 and £ amount to 70070 or by visiting Just Giving: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?.userUrl=CashieCycleUK14.

Cash Converters is a retailer of pre-owned goods and financial services provider with 224 stores in the UK and over 750 stores worldwide.