A RECORD-BREAKING Wrong Way Round bike ride attracted 135 cyclists and raised £1,800 for charities in Yatton Keynell.

Friends of By Brook Valley primary school, Yatton Keynell under-fives preschool, Yatton Keynell Youth Club and St Margaret's Church will all benefit from funds raised on Sunday. (JUN 14)

Participants ranged from six-year-old villager Will Hughes, who managed a full 19-mile lap, to Fred Hayward who did two laps, just two years after first getting on a bike at the age of 74.

Vicar Jonathan Philpott and PC Les Fletcher also got pedalling, with the community beat manager on his police bike.

One of the organisers, David Else, said: “There were lots of spectators, and riders of all ages including several under 10.

"It's about getting everyone from the village together and simply having a good time. Too many villages these days are commuter belt with neighbours not knowing each other.

"What I like is seeing people who don't usually cycle getting their bikes out the shed and dusting them off."

The event is also popular with Chippenham Wheelers members, like David Harriman, 46, from Kington St Michael. He set off at 6am, rode 38 miles and was back by 11am to make his wife a cup of coffee on their 13 year wedding anniversary.

He said: "Now that you don't have to ride from London there is much more participation from families. It is a good, sociable event."

The 19-mile circuit, new to last year, takes in Kington St Michael, Stanton St Quintin, Hullavington and Grittleton.

Twenty riders tackled the classic challenge, 97 miles from Hyde Park Corner back to Yatton Keynell, a distance made well-known by the iconic milestone in the village.

Among them were Ian Banister, head of By Brook Valley school governors, who said: "I left Wiltshire at 2.45am and did it in eight hours. It was fantastic riding back through the village with everyone cheering, a really nice spirit."

This year the milestone was recreated at the village hall, as organisers said the growing crowds of spectators at the finish meant it would be a better location than the main road.

It was crafted by wood turner Vernon Hughes and painted with 'Hyde Park Corner 97' by artist Sam Perry.

Mr Else said: “It follows a tradition in the village of rebuilding history. About five years ago, villagers built a new market cross, the first to be built in England for 500 years.”