FORMER Warrington Wolves forward Gary Chambers has taken part in a 500-mile non-stop cycle, held to honour the daughter of an ex-police officer.

Chambers, a one-club man who featured for the Wire 210 times over the course of 11 years, raised thousands of pounds for Reverse Rett alongside charity founder Andy Stevenson and Neil Fowler, who served as a copper in the town in the 1990s, with the mammoth cycle.

The challenge, held to mark the fifth anniversary of charity trustee Neil’s seven-year-old daughter Ciara being diagnosed with Rett syndrome, encompassed 12 laps of a 40-mile loop on the Wirral.

While the trio did not manage to complete the whole challenge, which took place on the weekend of Saturday, June 17, other cyclists stepped in to rack up the 500 miles.

Andy, formerly of Burtonwood, said: “It was five years since the anniversary of Ciara’s diagnosis, so we wanted to do 100 miles for each year.

“We didn’t get anywhere near enough time to train for it, so it was always going to be a difficult challenge.

“The three of us planned to do the whole 500 miles and we also had different people joining on us on different laps of the course.

“When we couldn’t continue people were getting out of bed to come down to make sure that the miles still got completed.”

The trio came into difficulty shortly around the halfway mark, with Andy feeling the effects of sunstroke.

He added: “We’d been riding for nearly 24 hours and I was on mile 275 when I started to get blurred vision and I couldn’t see the road.

“I started to get a bit worried then, and Gary took one look at me and told me to stop.

“Once I’d stopped that was it – I couldn’t get going again as I had nothing to give.

“I felt rough for a few days but I feel alright now – I just don’t want to see a bike for a long time.”

But the challenge raised around £9,000 for the charity, which aims to eradicate the debilitating neurological condition.

Andy added: “Clinical trials have started this year so now is the time for people to fundraise for Rett research.

“We might not get another chance like this and we’re having a really big push because if everything goes to plan Rett syndrome might not exist in three or four years’ time.”