Two young cyclists have raised a large sum of money for charity after taking part in the increasingly popular ‘Everesting’ challenge, with one of them even breaking a national record in the process.

Barrovians Sam and Tom Stephenson cycled up and down Kirkstone Pass near Ambleside until they reached an accumulative ascent equal to the height of Mount Everest (8,848 metres).

Everesting is a challenge that has been taken on by cyclists around the world during the coronavirus pandemic as a means of staying competitive while social distancing, with bunch races currently not allowed.

The brothers, who are both members of The Lakes Road Club, were hampered by hot and humid conditions on the day they rode, but 20-year-old Tom persevered by completing 170km in nine hours, two minutes and 25 seconds, making him the fastest person in the UK to complete the challenge.

The Stephensons were riding in honour of their late grandad, Sam McKittrick and have managed to raise close to £2,500 for St Mary’s Hospice in Ulverston.

Tom Stephenson said: “My brother and I initially weren’t planning on going for the record, that was just an added bonus, really.

“We knew when we set out in the morning that we were on record pace, but we weren’t sure if we could maintain it for the day because it was a nine-hour day in the saddle, so a lot could have gone wrong.”

It most certainly went right for Tom as he lowered the mark set by Hannah Rhodes by six minutes, but the main achievement for both was the amount of money they raised via their JustGiving page.

Sam, 23, said: “It’s a serious amount of money for a very worthy local cause. Everybody knows who St Mary’s Hospice are and plenty of people raise money for them.

“We’re over the moon. To have raised that much money is incredible.”

Tom’s UK record has since been broken by a rider from Derbyshire, while the world record was recently set Australian professional Lachlan Morton, who completed the challenge in seven hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds.

On recovering from such a gruelling ride, Tom said: “It took about a week until I felt 100 per cent again.

“It was as much mental as physical - a bit like being jet-lagged - it definitely took its toll.”