Firefighters put aside their hoses and took out their bikes, as they pedalled their way around the coast of England to raise money for charities.

Ally Warnock, 43, Adam Dicks, 27, Casey Moroney, 37, and Jim Jobson, 53, who work at Ilford fire station, in High Road, Ilford, as well as retired firefighter Mick Chubb, 57, finished the next part of their “around England” ride raising thousands for charities.

Ally said: “It is challenging, but it does keep you fit and you do it as a team so you’re always given support.”

The five men have been jumping on their bikes for five years, travelling along the perimetre of the country, starting from their final destination last year at Barrow in Furness.

They then travelled along the coast, cycling around 200 miles over three days, through Morecambe, Blackpool, Southport, Liverpool and Wrexham and ended up in Shropshire.

Ally said: “If you look at a map, you can see just how far we have travelled. It’s such a long journey and you don’t even realise it until you see it for yourself.”

The group has raised around £20,000 over the years, but this year have managed to raise £3,000 which they will donate to charities and people in the borough.

Ally said: “We don’t want to give it to any big charity - we want to think about how we spend it and give it out to places where we know exactly how it is being spent.”

He added: “It is difficult but hopefully all of the money we raise does a lot of good.”