On Saturday 21 October eleven firefighters from Clun completed a charity bike ride around Shropshire's Fire Stations, raising more than £2,000 for the Special Baby Care Unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and towards new facilities for the children's play area of Clun Memorial Hall.
Firefighter Michael Oliver had the idea of cycling from the County's fire stations that were situated furthest on the compass points of a map. The fire stations chosen were Whitchurch (North), Albrighton (East), Ludlow (South) and there was a healthy debate as to whether Oswestry or Clun was the furthest fire station in the West - finally decided by a vote of 12 to nil in favour of Clun.
The first stint from Whitchurch to Albrighton was cycled by Trevor Williams, Paul Slattery and Michael Oliver, who as the organiser, also cycled from Albrighton to Ludlow together with Andy Williams, Shenton Gwilliam and Rhys Davies. The final leg of the journey was completed by Graham Dudley, Darran Morris, Dan Morris and Graeme Barker who cycled from Ludlow to Clun.
Money was raised through sponsorship and as an incentive the team offered a £50 prize to anyone who could guess how long it would take them to complete the cycle. They took 7 hours 4 minutes despite a slight detour in Albrighton and heavy rain in Clun valley. One of the Firefighter's employers from Wolverhampton was the winner — his guess was just 41 seconds out.
The team would like to say a big thank you to everyone who sponsored them and contributed to the day.
