Ref. 25706-12SWINDON CARES: CYCLISTS took part in a pub-crawl on wheels as part of Swindon Cares week.

Swindon Cares aims to raise £10,000 for three local charities during seven dedicated days of moneymaking activities, which ends on Saturday.

To support the initiative, three relay teams toured 26 Arkell's pubs in the town with husband and wife team Jacquie and Mike Sheppard being the only riders to complete the 25-mile route.

They were joined on the first leg of the ride by James Arkell, managing director of Arkell's brewery, Pam Webb from Zurich and Louise Austin.

Starting from Longs Bar in Old Town, the cyclists rode to the Sun Inn at Coate Water and around various pubs in Stratton before stopping for a rest at the Kingsdown Inn.

Mike and Jacquie continued their ride around Gorse Hill and Moredon and were joined in the evening by Michelle Leighton from Nationwide and Jackie Kent from GWR FM to visit the town centre pubs.

Jacquie, 59, is a fundraising manger for Age Concern, one of the charities to benefit from Swindon Cares.

The NSPCC and the Swindon Cancer Appeal for Macmillan Nurses are the other two charities to receive money from the initiative.

Jacquie said: "We are hoping to raise £1,000 from the cycle. After the launch at Asda Wal-Mart on Sunday we have got off to a wonderful start, raising £1,000 already.

"It was incredibly hot, we were all dripping but it was for a good cause."

Louise, 34, is an amusement arcade operator at Austin Leisure in Victoria Road, Old Town.

She had raised £600 even before she even started to cycle.

She said: "All the locals in the Arkell's pubs have been so generous."

Swindon Cares is supported by Nationwide, Zurich, GWR Commu-nity Trust, the Rotary Club of Swindon, Swindon Council, the Swindon Chamber and the Evening Advertiser.

Find out how to get involved by contacting Pam Webb on 01793 502450 or e-mail her at pam.webb@ uk.zurich.com

www.swindoncares.co.uk