Good Samaritans Richard Lewis from Pewsey and Paul Whiteford from Upavon are setting off today to cycle the length of the UK to raise money for the Gateway Club, which provides social activities for adults with special needs.

Mr Lewis, 34, a gardener, and 32-year-old Mr Whiteford, a BMW mechanic, are voluntary workers at the club. It meets at the social club in Woodborough every Thursday.

They also help at the pensioners’ Christmas Day lunch at Marlborough Town Hall.

They are travelling by train from Pewsey to Penzance today and then they will cycle west to Land’s End before turning round and heading 900 miles north to John O’Groats.

Phil Hiscock, who runs the Gateway Club, praised the offer by the two men to give up a fortnight of their summer holidays to raise money through the sponsored ride.

“I think it’s absolutely brilliant of them to do this,” said Mr Hiscock.

“They will be the third ones in as many years to make the same trip to raise money for the club.”

Mr Lewis, son of the former long-serving but now retired Pewsey police officer, PC Bob Lewis, said he and Mr Whiteford loved helping out at community events.

“We both help out at the Gateway Club as volunteers and we go along and do whatever needs doing, whatever we are asked to do on the night.

“We get a sense of achieving something by being able to help those who are perhaps less fortunate in life than we are.”

They are cycling south to north, explained Mr Lewis, “because someone told us it’s easier going that way”.

Both are keen cyclists and plan to cover about 90 miles a day. They hope to arrive in John O’Groats in about ten days.