SIX Borders cyclists have raised over £7,000 for Prostate Scotland after taking on a rain-soaked challenge.

The Over The Hills team – made up of Galashiels quintet Stevie Halls, Keith Irvine, Ron Murray, Alan Brown and Kevin Mania as well as Hawick’s Doug Welsh - braved three days of almost constant rain to cycle 185 miles from the Yorkshire village of Settle to Galashiels.

The journey was made on the same weekend as Gala Cricket Club played Settle in the annual Davidson-Paterson Memorial Cup game, which this year was at Meigle Park.

They set off from a rainy Settle on Friday, July 20, travelling to Appleby in the Lake District before tackling the Hartside Summit - a climb of 1900 feet – to take them to Newcastleton.

The team had one more day to endure on another rainy day, before being welcomed back to Gala Cricket Club by a big crowd on Sunday afternoon.

Stevie told the Border Telegraph: “All of us have carried out various charity cycling challenges in the past but we agreed that this one was one of the toughest.

“The rain was relentless and more akin to January than July, so we were delighted to make it back to Galashiels on Sunday.

“A huge thanks to all who donated to the cause, it certainly helped to keep us going during those tough days in the saddle.

“A few of us commented that we would be throwing our bikes away after this challenge, but I am sure we will be looking for our next one soon.”

The six riders will hand over a cheque to Prostate Scotland.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “Our deepest gratitude to the whole team for undertaking this brave and tough challenge and for raising awareness and fundraising in their communities.”