Motorbike enthusiast Andy Winterbourne rode 3,000 miles across a desert in intense heat to became the top British rider to finish a gruelling event.

Andy, 35, of Ashfield Lane, East Hanney, came 31st in the Rallye Optic 2000 Tunisie on a 600cc Yamaha in a cavalcade of 200 bikes, 150 cars and 70 lorries.

But he admitted that the nine-day race in 40-degree heat was much harder than he had expected.

He said: "It was much tougher than I thought it would be. I was nowhere near fit enough. The first day was in a sandstorm. "I had a big accident on the last day. I was on a fast road and hit a rock and cartwheeled the bike at about 50 or 60mph. I bent the handlebars but managed to limp home.

"I was really chuffed to finish where I did but it was so difficult. One man was killed when he broke his neck in an accident."

Andy, who is a builder, won a trophy and 400, though the cash will only slightly offset the 7,000 cost of entering the event and making modifications to his bike.

Andy, who was British schoolboy motocross champion in 1980 and 1981, added: "At heart I am a racer and I want to race. "But I am also a family man and really missed my wife and kids. You are so close to accidents or death all the time.

"One day I picked up the bike after falling off and looked all around me and it all looked the same and not a soul in sight I was quite overwhelmed."

Andy and his wife Joanna have two sons George, three, and James, one.