HUNDREDS of cyclists pedalled from church to church across Oxfordshire to raise money for their upkeep.

The Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust is set to raise £115,000 from the annual Ride and Stride day, when an estimated 900 cyclists, walkers and horseriders visited as many churches as possible on Saturday.

Tom Ibbotson, 34, of Edinburgh Drive, Kidlington, who was taking part for the fourth time, raced against the clock to visit 40 churches before making it to a friend’s organ recital in Great Tew at 6pm.

Hubert Beaumont, 74, of Stanford in the Vale, took part in the event for the first time with his son Oliver, 39, raising more than £1,000, to be split between the trust and his parish church of St Denys.

Mr Beaumont, who visited 18 churches in six hours and cycled 35 miles, said: “I haven’t cycled more than five miles in 50 years.” He vowed to return next year to clock up 50 miles., adding: “I want to be the oldest participant.”

Conservative Party leader and Witney MP David Cameron set off from St Nicholas Church, in Chadlington, to visit four local churches.

He told the Oxford Mail: “I’ve had to borrow a bicycle because mine is in London. My tyres are pumped and I’ve a couple of stiff hills on my route, but we’ve got a superb day for it. It looks as if summer has finally arrived, just when we thought there hadn’t been one at all.”