Hickton Group is a commercial building inspection company with offices in Barnsley, Bristol and York, and employees across each location are taking part in the fundraiser.

Exercise bikes are being used and staff are taking it in turns to pedal a combined total of 2,065km – the equivalent of the distance from the Barnsley office to Lapland, averaging 288km per day for three days.

The money raised is being split equally between three charities, one nominated from each location: The Rucksack Project, which supports homeless people in the Barnsley area; Eve Merton Dreams Trust, which grants wishes for families affected by cancer; and Heart Heroes, which supports children with heart conditions and their families.

“We know that Christmas can be a hard time of year for some so we are dedicating time to fundraise for charities that have special meaning to us,” said Joe Grimwood, Group Administrator for Hickton Group.

“The idea came from our manager who had just come back from Lapland. We knew we wanted to do something as a company, over Christmas, so this seemed the perfect idea. Fundraising is a new venture for us, but we want to keep it up and support our local communities.”

Joe hopes he and his colleagues will raise at least £1,000 for the three charities, and have set up a fundraising page. To make a donation and find out more visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/hickton-cycles-to-lapland