A team of lifesavers have begun a gruelling 999 mile cycle ride to every ambulance trust in the country to raise funds for the Ambulance Service Benevolent Fund (ASBF).

The eight riders from the East of England Ambulance Service left their HQ in Cambourne, near Cambridge, today for their first overnight stop at Sheffield.

They aim to visit all ten UK ambulance trusts over the next nine days, during which they will be supported by colleagues driving a pair of specially liveried Mercedes-Benz vehicles donated by Orwell Truck and Van.

The pedalling paramedics have raised more than £20,000 for ASBF over the last three years. This follows journeys between Land's End and John O'Groats, and across the English Channel to Paris in previous years.

Half of the team are based in Norwich.

For more information, visit www.pedallingparamedics.co.uk and to sponsor them, visit www.justgiving.com/Pedaling-Paramedics