A TRIO of cyclists are set to use pedal power to travel 1,000 miles from one end of the country to the other to raise cash for charity.

Brother and sister Frances and Gareth Cooper and their friend Geoff Senior are to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for the national charity Fight for Sight.

Opticians Frances, 24, and Gareth, 26 of Helm-shore Road, Helmshore, and Geoff Senior, 27 who works at All Saints' High School, in Rawtenstall, are planning the trip for August.

Frances, a former All Saints High School pupil, said they were hoping to raise more than £2,000 for the charity She said: "We are keen cyclists but we haven't really done anything like this before so it will be a major achievement for us to complete this challenge.

"As well as raising money we are treating it as a holiday so we expect the journey to take about two-and-a-half weeks.

"It's difficult trying to fit training in around work but I cycle to work two or three times a week and that's about 11 or 12 miles each way, so hopefully I'll be ok. As we were planning the trip anyway we thought it would be an opportunity to raise money for a good cause. As Gareth and I are both opticians, Fight for Sight seemed the obvious choice."

And the team, who will be cycling around 80 miles a day, will be relying on an unlimited supply of Mars bars to help fuel their trip while staying in youth hostels en route.

Fight for Sight's Sarina Jesudason added: "We are delighted that Frances, Gareth and Geoff have decided to help raise much-needed funds for the charity, which battles against blindness and provides funding for first-class research to prevent blindness and treat eye disease."

Visit www.justgiving. com/endtoend2006.