Couple finish 1,500-mile cycle for the second time

Richard Bebbington described the heat in Italy as "a gamechanger"

A couple cycled 1,500 miles from Rome all the way to their Leicestershire home, a reverse of the challenge they completed 11 years ago.

Ange and Richard Bebbington, aged 50 and 57 respectively, took on the ride in support of the charity Wishes 4 Kids, completing it on Saturday.

Their three-week journey began in the Italian capital on 22 August and saw them cycle through 36C (96.8F) heat along the Italian coast, past iconic landmarks such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and over challenging mountain passes.

In 2013, the pair completed a similar feat as they cycled from their home to Rome for the same charity.

Mr and Mrs Bebbington's journey concluded at Zamani’s Restaurant in Ashby, where friends, family and supporters gathered to celebrate their achievement.

They have so far raised more than £5,000 for the charity, which grants wishes for sick children.

The couple say they met some "fantastic people" during the challenge

"We finished on Saturday and then the tiredness hit," Mr Bebbington said.

"It’s like your body knows that you’ve done it."

The couple averaged between 70 (112km) and 75 miles (120km) a day and said they would be in bed by 20:00, before setting their alarms for 05:15 the next day to make the most of cooler weather in the mornings.

Mr Bebbington said although the big picture of the challenge was "daunting" and there were "definitely some lows", he had to pinch himself after each day after realising how far they had travelled.

"What we’ve achieved over the three weeks is surreal," he added.

Mrs Bebbington said: "It’s amazing. We feel really privileged to be able to physically do it.

"I think sometimes it wasn’t until the evening when we’d got that day done we could take a breath and say, we did that."