A TEAM of Highways England traffic officers from Almondsbury clocked up additional miles as part of a 24-hour fundraising effort this week, raising £1,640 for charity.

The team of nine, based at the Almondsbury Outstation set themselves a target of covering 350 miles on a spin bike, equivalent to the distance of motorway and major trunk roads they patrol in the region, while raising for the Huntingdon’s Disease Assocation.

Receiving support on social media from the likes of TV star Shane Richie and singer Tony Hadley, Clarke Hobbs, Andy Watts, Lou Stout, Anthony Reeves, Alan Sludden, Barry Thomas, Jolene Britton, Alistair Steel and Lou Quinton smashed the target, pedalling their way to a total of 502 miles.

Splitting the tasks in shifts, and aided by fellow Highways England staff who supported on a separate bike, they pedalled for 24 hours between Monday and Tuesday, finishing at 4pm.

Avonmouth-based operations manager Sean Dowding said: “The Huntington’s Disease Association is a charity close to our hearts and we really wanted to do something to raise awareness of the disease.

“We’re delighted to raise the amount we did, and also the support we received from our colleagues in the South West and further afield, and also from the the Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre, who kindly donated two of the bikes.

“We tweeted updates over the 24 hours, which created a bit more interest, and it was really nice to get some social media support, particularly the retweets from Shane Richie and Tony Hadley.”

Huntington’s Disease is a hereditary disorder of the nervous system that over time causes serious cognitive, emotional and psychological changes, affecting on average, 12 people in every 100,000 in the UK.

For more information go to www.hda.org.uk/