A GROUP of mums said they are looking forward to giving something back as they pedal from London to Paris for charity.

The team of 10 friends, from across Warrington, have joined forces to raise funds for maternal health charity Life for African Mothers with their three day cycling challenge to France.

Claire Gregory, from Great Sankey and Robyn Ablott, who have organised the event with their friends from their personal trainer business Female Fitness Academy, said the journey will be tough but they are excited about getting started.

Mum-of-two Claire said: "We wanted to give something back as a group and then came across Life for African Mothers.

"We're all mums who have been lucky enough to have free, high-quality ante and post natal care so we decided to organise something as a group to help.

"None of us have cycled since we were kids so it's going to be a challenge for everyone involved and we're all starting as beginners."

The group set off on October 24 from Tower Bridge in London and will cover 85 miles a day to reach the French capital.

They will have no support vehicle along the way and have been planning their own route so all the money raised will go towards the cause.

Claire, aged 32, added: "I think organising it has been the most difficult thing so far but none of us want to let the charity down so that's all the motivation we need.

"They told us the cost of a postage stamp can help prevent a woman from haemorrhaging during birth and a couple of thousand pounds could save 800 lives so that puts things into perspective and makes it all worthwhile for us.

"I think when we cross the finish line it will be emotional but at the moment we're all really excited."

A spokesman from the charity said: "The key message about the charity is that the focus is on preventable maternal deaths (still up to 800 per day globally, most in Africa, despite recent progress), but supplying key medications which are often missing in poor countries and training midwives to handle emergencies for mother and baby.

“The charity is small and all cash raised goes directly into training and medication."

To donate visit justgiving.com/thefemalefitness.