SIX Islanders took part in a four-day cycle through France to raise over £800 for African schoolchildren.

The money will be used to support a day-care centre in northern Zambia which helps vulnerable children in the town of Kasama.

On 15 September Phil Smart, Kevin Romeril, Bernie Drakes, Diane Hall, Denis Laisney and Kevin Daly cycled from St Malo, through Rennes and on to Redon following the Rance river along the canal path. Finishing four days later, the group had covered around 170 miles.

The group was formed when Mr Romeril approached Mr Daly with the idea for a charity cycle. Having earlier taken part in a charity walk for African schoolchildren in the year, and being a keen cycler, Mr Daly jumped at the chance. And apart from a couple of punctures on route the trip was incident free.

Mr Daly, organiser and founder of the Help an African Schoolchild charity, was delighted with the trip, saying: ‘We were extremely lucky with the weather and the journey was brilliant. We spent about six hours in the saddle each day and then relaxed in the evenings.’

While he has no plans for any more events this year, he is planning a second trip in 2009 and hopes to get even more people on board. ‘Next year I plan to do it over a weekend so people who could not get time off work can take part. Obviously there is a limit to how many people we can take when you consider health and safety and accommodation needs, so probably about 15-20 people.’

• Anyone interested in taking part in next year’s cycle can e-mail: kevin.daly@hast.org.uk or vanessa.nash@hast.org.uk.

• Picture: The charity cycling team (from left): Phil Smart, Kevin Romeril, Bernie Drakes, Diane Hall, Denis Laisney and Kevin Daly