Three friends from Stourbridge have beaten the gruelling "Ultra Tour of Arran", raising nearly £2000 for Mary Stevens Hospice and The Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Dan Woodall, Rich Harris and Tom Lee-Field took on the 60-mile, off-road race across two days on the 14th & 15th April, battling testing conditions and incredibly rough terrain in order to cross the finish line in support of the two charities which they say have "supported all of their families in recent years".

In doing so, they've so far managed to raise just over £1960 for the Hagley Road charity which supports families battling the impact of life-limiting illnesses in the West Midlands and the MNDA. The trio said:

“The challenge itself was split into 2 days, the south half of the Island on day one and the mountainous north half on the second day, operating from a central basecamp in Broddick.

"By the second day our legs were already tired and we had some serious climbing to do up through the mountains and then to drop back down again for 10miles only to go back up to finish the race off. It was an exhausting challenge that pushed us to the limits but one full of truly stunning scenes at every turn.

"We would just like to say a massive thank you for all the support and sponsorship we have received, and hopefully it will go a little way to continuing the fantastic work of these two amazing charities.”

Ruth Longville, Third-party Fundraising Liaison, added:

“What the lads have put themselves through in support of our families has simply taken our breath away, and we can't thank them enough for their efforts. The money they've raised will make such a difference to a family here in their time of need.”

The fundraising page for the trio's challenge will stay open until early-May.