More than 300 cyclists pedalled through Saturday night when they took part in Crudwell 24 Hour Bike Ride, raising more £10,000 for their chosen charities.

Twenty-six teams, from primary school pupils to more experienced cyclists, set off from the village hall on a seven mile circuit.

The circuit was repeated for 24 hours, one group called Kinectic One creating a new record by completing 74 laps.

Chairman of the village hall fundraising committee Mike Credicott said: “One of the teams cycled around in fancy dress – they were a team of students called Who’s Round Is It?

“We had someone in a banana costume being chased by a gorilla, and a shark chasing a damsel in distress, which summed it all up – it’s a bit of fun.”

The teams kept going through the hottest day of the year.

“On Saturday afternoon it was almost too hot for us,” Mr Credicott said. “It is horrible when it is raining, but the sun was almost too much in the afternoon.

“But in the evening, when the sun was shining and the barbecue was going, we also had a band playing, so there was a bit of a festival atmosphere.”

The ride, started to raise money for the village hall, has been running for 21 years, with one year off after organisers struggled to find volunteers to help out.

But, after an outcry at the cancellation, volunteers flooded in.

“Over those 20 years we must have raised around a quarter of a million pounds,” Mr Credicott said.