THREE friends have cycled the length of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath to raise money for charity.

Neil Shackleton, Andrew Kirkland and Carl Mawer covered the 127-mile route over two days.

Together they raised about £2,000 – about double their target.

The money will be split between three causes – the Crohn's Disease charity, Cauda Equina Syndrome UK and Oakworth Juniors Football Club under-nines.

"The causes are all close to our hearts for different reasons," said Mr Shackleton, 43, a bus mechanic, of Exley Head, Keighley.

"We were really pleased with how it went.

"It was wet and windy for part of the time but for the remainder the conditions were fine.

"We all do a bit of cycling on local moorland but this challenge was an unknown for us. We hadn't tackled anything like it before but it was okay.

"We'd been in training since Christmas."

Mr Shackleton, work colleague Mr Kirkland and postman Mr Mawer – both also of Keighley – thank everyone who gave their support.

"The backing we received was fantastic – people have been really generous," said Mr Shackleton.

"We would particularly like to thank Royal Mail, Carl's employer, which donated £200."