A group of Cheltenham business people have raised over £15,000 after completing a charity bike ride which saw them end up in Dublin watching the rugby.

The group of six riders and two support crew set off on February 8th and cycled 206 miles from Cheltenham up to Holyhead in Anglesey, north Wales, during the three-day ride.

The Ride 2 Rugby saw them take a ferry over to Ireland and watch the Six Nations game between Ireland and France on the Saturday.

In completing the ride, the team actually upped their fundraising target and managed to raise around £16,000, including gift aid, for The Brain Charity.

For David Jones, managing director of Cheltenham-based planning consultants Evans Jones, this was the latest in a series of cycle rides which has seen him raise many thousands for various charities. 

He said: "I'm just a sucker for punishment! We left Cheltenham early on February 8th during that cold snap. It was minus 3 when we left andn I've never been so cold on a bike - it was absolutely freezing but if you agree to do a sponsored ride in February that's what you expect.

"We rode all day Wednesday and Thursday and did the final 50 miles to Holyhead on the Friday to hook up with the ferry to Dublin.

"The ride was for The Brain Charity. One of the participants was Kieran McLaughlin whose mother had a brain aneurysm and sadly passed away so if was felt appropriate to support that charity that had supported him and others.

"We were very pleased with the result. It's amazing that in a fairly difficult period people are still willing to give so generously. It does show that people are still happy and willing to support good charities which is awe-inspiring really."

The Ride 2 Rugby team consisted of David Jones, Kelan Loughnane, Rory Sweeney, Ciaran McLaughlin, Adam Teakle, Rob Berry, Pascal Finn and John Loughnane.

Last year, Mr Jones took part in a cycle ride from London to Paris for the Royal British Legion and a ride from Cheltenham to Bruges for the Great Western Air Ambulance charity.