HOTEL staff have pledged their support for a duo tackling a 160-mile coast-to-coast challenge.

The team from Burnley's Holiday Inn Express will take to the waterways and cycle alongside Andrew Wellock and Andrew Lambert who are hoping to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

The Pendle Way hotel, which is close to the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, is the halfway point for the Two Men One Boat team.

After they approached the hotel to help out with accommodation, general manager Steve Walmsley thought it would be a good idea to get involved in the project.

Hotel staff will greet the pair, who are raising money for Cancer Support Yorkshire which helped Mr Wellock during his own diagnosis, and paddle with them on their final journey to Goole.

The owners, Starboard Hotels, who have a northern hub in Chorley, are also getting behind the two with hotel operations director Kerian Barnes and her office team cycling with them along the canal.

Mr Wellock, from Ikley, was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. After a series of operations and treatment, he is now fit and well.

The Cancer Support Yorkshire patron said: “I was halfway though my treatment when I came into contact with Cancer Support Yorkshire.

“This was when I realised how lucky I was compared to a lot of other people who were going through a similar thing.

“I had so much support from my family and friends that my attitude to it all was very positive and this greatly helped me get through the whole process quickly.

"To be able to come out the other side with hope and optimism you definitely need support. But for those people who don’t have this kind of support where do they go?

“Support is one of the best medicines to help you through this trying time and it’s not available on prescription.”

The two men, neither of whom have any previous canoe experience, are in training for the adventure which begins in Liverpool on July 9. They are expected to arrive in Burnley two days later.

Miss Barnes said: “Our teams are pleased to be supporting such a worthwhile cause. I didn’t have to ask them twice to get involved.

“We are joining the canoeists for a stretch of their journey by cycling along the towpath and taking to the Leeds Liverpool in canoes to help send them on their journey. It is a great team building exercise for us all.”

For more visit www.2men1boat.blogspot.co.uk.