A PAIR of intrepid young friends got on their bikes to raise funds for a children's hospice charity.

Zech Newton, 10, and his 14 year old friend Jamie Williams rode 55 miles from Oswestry to Rhayader in Powys and have raised £1,600 so far for Hope House.

Jamie, from Weston Rhyn, and Zech, of Oswestry, were accompanied by family members on the trip, which started at BikeWorks in Beatrice Street.

Zech's father Matthew Newton, 42, joined the boys on the trip and told of his pride at the youngster's achievements.

He said: "It went fantastically, the lads did really well. The traffic was great, the weather held together and the lads were really positive about it mentally as well."

Zech and Jamie, who enjoy cycling in the Rhayader area, decided to ride the distance after joking telling Mr Newton they would soon not need a lift home as they would ride back.

Richard Newton, Zech's grandfather, suggested they do a charity ride and the boys chose Hope House, which has hospices in Morda and Conwy.

The trip, which took around nine hours, included a visit to Hope House Children's Hospice in Morda and will also pass through Welshpool, Newtown, Caersws, Llandinam, Llanidloes and Llangurig.

The boys were also accompanied by Jamie's uncle Lee Williams, Richard Newton along with family friends Andrew Pollock and Stuart Kynaston.

Support was provided in a car by Jacqui and Craig Rushton, parents of Mr Williams' wife Lisa, and Jamie's father Dean Williams.

With funds still coming in, Matthew Newton thanked all those who had supported the boys' fundraising.

He added: "It's phenomenal. We said that we wanted to raise £1,000 and we've smashed it."