Four friends took on a 17-hour sporting challenge to raise money for cancer sufferers.

Keen golfers Adrian Green, Paul Dimmer, Harish Tailor, who all live in Hillingdon, along with their friend Dave Whitelock, 76, from Harrow, make up 'Within The Fathom'.

As part of Macmillan Cancer Support's Longest Day Gold Challenge, they took to the green to play four full rounds of golf in one day.

A typical round takes just under four hours, so even with the games taking place on one of the longest days of the year, the team had a tee off time of 3.45am.

And they added an extra twist to their challenge - they played each round at a different golf course.

The team began their day at Stockley Pines Golf Course in West Drayton where the management team agreed to waive their green fees for the event. They also provided a free course planner and helped them to promote the event in their clubhouse.

After 18 holes there, they headed to Ruislip Golf Course for around 8.30am where they played another full round before moving on to Haste Hill Golf Course, Northwood. After grabbing lunch they played back to back rounds taking them through to the finish at 9.20pm.

"It was what could only be described as a wonderfully exhausting day," said Mr Green.

"Due to the level of cloud first thing in the morning we couldn't hit our first balls until just after 4am but by keeping a good pace and using a little of our 'buffer' time we in fact completed the second round slightly ahead of schedule.

"The rest of the day went like clockwork.

"We posted some decent scores too in what was a real team effort, keeping each other going and ensuring we stuck to the pace we had set.

"We received great support throughout the day from everyone we met around the courses and got just under £50 in donations in the buckets we left at each course whilst we played our rounds.

"So far we have raised just over £1000 in total and expect to get a little more before we declare our final figure."

Once the final total is calculated the team will find out if they are one of the top fundraisers for the Macmillan event. If so they will be invited to take part in a final in Portugal.

You can still donate at: www.justgiving.com/teams/withinthefathom