THREE Redditch women have completed a 100-mile cycle challenge across Norfolk to raise money for Cancer Research.

The three women, who met when they started working at Energy and Utility Skills about five years ago, have been organising annual charity events for some time, setting themselves different challenges to raise cash for their favourite charity.

Kirsty Elliot, from Matchborough West, Donna Beaumont, from Headless Cross, and Shona Parkes, from Matchbor-ough East, have already completed a sponsored walk, and this time they thought they would try their hand at a cycle ride with Shona providing back up, tea, sympathy, plasters, waterproofs and a big bucket for collecting donations.

Shona said: "Kirsty chose the route because she thought Norfolk would be flat. It's really not.

"We're still collecting the money in at the moment. Our goal was £1,000 and we've gone over that already so we hope to raise £1,200."

The women tend to steer clear of organised charity events.

Shona added: "In the organised events you can't always choose your charity, and Cancer Research is important to us. It's one of those charities that everyone has been helped by in one way or another."

Redditch based company Newtown Fleet Hire made the girls trip a lot easier by lending them a van for a couple of days so they could store their bikes safely overnight and stash their gear while they cycled, and the hard work does not seem to have put them off their fundraising mission - they already have their event planned for 2008.

Shona said: "If we can get the venue, we're looking at a 24-hour badminton marathon, and we want to expand the number of people involved."