TWO staff members and a customer of a vape shop based in Ellesmere Port are to get on their bikes for a charity ride in aid of two worthy charities.

The team of three at Alectrofag Ellesmere Port is cycling nearly 90 miles from Marina Drive on Friday morning, beginning at 7am, to their accommodation in Birmingham, before travelling the remaining eight miles to open the vape expo at the Birmingham NEC the following morning.

The ride has been made more poignant after one of the team members originally due to take part – Martin Hearn – sadly passed away from diabetes.

As a result, any funds raised beyond the team's target of £1,000 – which is going to Cancer Research UK – will be donated to Diabetes UK in Martin's name.

Store manager for Alectrofag Ellesmere Port James Benzie said: "Our business is driven by our passion to help our customers quit smoking.

"The reason this charity ride was chosen was the industry we're in and we often see the flip side of smokers and deal with people either suffering with cancer and needing to quit or they've lost family to it and they want to quit.

"So as we were attending the expo anyway we sat down in May and decided let's do something different and ride there and raise as much as we can while doing it.

"The ride will not use a single road, just canal towpaths the whole route because the team believes that anyone can do a road ride for a charity but no-one ever goes off-road and through the country.

"The route isn't easy and the paths at times are dangerous and very narrow. None of our team are trained nor have ever rode this kind of distance before."

The team is expecting the challenge to take about seven hours to complete on Friday, and there will be a support vehicle to provide first aid if required.

For more information and to donate on the team's Justgiving page, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/james-benzie1 or search for Alectrofag Vape Lounge Ellesmere Port on Facebook.