A COUPLE cycling more than 12,000 miles for charity have so far battled protests and sweltering temperatures on their mission to raise £100,000.

Loretta White, 30, and husband Craig Pollard, 34, from Waterperry, set off on a mammoth bike ride from London to South Africa in August.

They and four friends wanted to raise money and awareness for street children in Africa.

The couple have now covered 15 countries and 4,500 miles. They arrived in the Sudan last week, after cycling for 10 days across the Nubian desert in 50C heat.

Dr White, a clinical psychologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital, said: “The journey has so far been extremely challenging. We reached a record 106 miles on one day recently, despite even our fingers and toes being sunburned.

“One day we cycled 1,850 metres from the Dead Sea in Jordan to Karak. It took us five hours to cover 20 miles, half-pushing our fully- loaded bikes up the mountain.”

Along their journey, the cyclists also encountered Cairo during the recent elections and disruption on the streets.

Dr White said: “We heard about the violence in Tahrir Square a week before we were due to arrive in Cairo. Even though we were nervous about what was happening, the local people around us were reassuring.

“We were lucky enough to see Tahrir Square peaceful and the elections go smoothly.”

The group have already made more than £20,000. They aim to reach Cape Town in South Africa by August.

All the money will go towards their new charity Cycle Africa, which aims to help children off the streets and into brighter futures. They have been visiting partnership charities, including Street Child Africa and Street Action along the way.

* For more information about Cycle Africa, to donate and to follow the team’s progress visit cycleafrica.org An educational blog for children can be seen at dinoandlion.wordpress.com