A sponsored cycle ride through rolling French countryside raised hundreds of pounds for an air ambulance charity - despite not going entirely to plan.

Bike Bayeux, organised by the Rotary Club of Poundbury, was due to start in Cherbourg, from where cyclists would travel through the Normandy countryside to Bayeux - Dorchester's twin town.

The event began on Thursday, June 20, with a gathering of the participants at Café on the Green in Poundbury before their early ferry journey the next day. Cyclists were bid good luck by Mayor of Dorchester Cllr Richard Biggs, and local adventurer Steven Howard who had just returned from running the Namib Desert.

However Rotarian Peter Noble said: "Even the best paid plans have events that are outside the control of the organisers. The bikes were all collected in a hired van which was planned to travel with the riders on foot onto the ferry so that when everyone arrived in Cherbourg, they took their bikes and set off. The luggage stayed with the van to meet up at the hotel later in the day."

Mr Noble said while they were waiting to board the ferry at 5am, the group received a call from the van driver who told them the vehicle had engine failure.

He continued: "As always, Rotarians are ever resourceful. The riders and Rotary members boarded the ferry...and worked on plan B. Fortunately, another club member was meeting the riders at the ferry port and had arranged to hire all the bikes they could find, but only two were available.

"A small group opted to go on an eight mile walk to the town they were planned to stay in, St Mere Eglise, and a few opted for a ride to the hotel and transport was available thanks to Rotarians who took cars and were already on site."

The group spent the night at an intermediate hotel halfway to Bayeux. Meanwhile, the van hire company had produced a replacement van meaning the driver could bring the bikes from England to France, and the group could continue their journey the next day.

Having arrived in Bayeux after cycling a scenic route through the Normandy countryside, cyclists met the Mayor of Bayeux for a civic reception.

The event was organised to raise funds for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Organisers say it should raise more than £1,000, but the total won’t be known until all donations have been totalled.