Police’s big ride to help heroes of terror attacks
BRITISH Transport Police officers and rail workers have cycled to the Manchester Arena from London Bridge to support colleagues who were caught up in terrorist attacks.
A four-strong team cycled overnight from the capital and arrived in Manchester just before 11am on Saturday.
They completed the challenge on behalf of the Railway Benefit Fund, a charity which supports people who work on the railways, including British Transport Police.
BTP officers were some of the first emergency services on the scene following the Arena bombing on May 22 last year, working at the nearby Victoria Station. They were honoured after their heroics following the attack.
Officers were also heavily involved in the response to the London Bridge attack on June 3 last year.
Mark Newton, a former assistant chief constable at BTP; Stuart Cleverly, who works for BTP; Alex Carson, of South Western Railway; and Bryan Donnelly, of the Rail Delivery Group, all took part in the challenge. They completed the 217-mile trek in just under 24 hours.
They have raised £825 of their £1,000 target.
Faye Jaques, the charity’s fundraising manager, said: “British Transport Police officers were some of the first responders following the Manchester Arena bomb, and they were able to retrieve people from the scene.
“It means an awful lot to those officers.
“There are a lot of people who have been massively affected by it and have just gone back to their jobs and got on with it.”
To donate to the appeal for the Railway Benefit Fund, visit justgiving. com/fundraising/rbfjailbreak