FUNDRAISERS who cycled and hiked for St Luke’s Hospice have raised £90,000.

The Kenton charity’s Pledge 2 Pedal biking event in Harrow on Sunday followed the arrival of trekkers returning from a five-day 74-mile annual walk in northern England.

This year’s Cleveland Challenge was held in memory of the hospice’s founder and life president John Corner, who died in February having taken part in every walk since the inaugural one in 1995.

First time walker Patsy Scanlan said: “I will never forget the day on the moors when it was just pouring with rain, all our boots were leaking, our hands were frozen and it was utterly miserable. Then we arrived at the tea van in the middle of nowhere to find a cup of tea waiting and amazing food.

“It was the hardest challenge that I have ever gone through in all of my life, but I am just so pleased to have done it.”

The walk, raising £80,000, started in the market town of Helmsley, circled the north-western edges of the Yorkshire Moors National Park, reaching the east coast at Saltburn, then turned south along the Heritage Coast to the finish line at Whitby.

Organiser Lesley Dodd said 90 walkers tackled the challenge that certainly lived up to its name.

“They battled through rain, hail and wind to complete their targets – but when the sun came out, which it did for the second half of the walk, then everything got better and better,” she said.

“They all came out the other end with broad smiles, flushed with their success and achievement.”

On Sunday, friends and family came to cheer on the more than 90 sponsored bikers who completed either a 15-mile or 30-mile course that started and finished at Byron Recreation Ground, in Christchurch Avenue, Wealdstone.

Harrow’s Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Dal Babu, a keen cyclist, was the first to complete the longer distance.

He said: “I was particularly impressed with the number of young people who took part in this event, particularly the students from Nower Hill High School and Salvatorian College, who gave up their weekends to raise money for St Luke’s.”

Amit Kapadia, 29, of Rayners Lane, South Harrow, raised more than £1,000 in sponsorship and cycled the 30-mile circuit in 2h 30m.

He said: “I know that the money will go to a good cause because my wife’s uncle was cared for by St Luke’s Hospice, which allowed him to be with his loved ones at home during his last few days.”

The hospice, in Kenton Grange, Kenton, aims to raise £250,000 in its 25th anniversary year and is being helped by the Observer’s Showing We Care campaign, which is urging readers to get involved in fundraising events or to make a donation.