Five colleagues and friends from plumbing equipment supplier, Altecnic, will be taking part in the Gran Charity Giro, a thousand mile cycle ride over the Alps, from Stafford to Milan.
Starting from Altecnic's company headquarters, the team will be joined by five colleagues from the parent company Caleffi's Italian manufacturing facility in Fontaneto D'Agogna. Funds raised will go to Shine Together, Leukaemia & Lymphona Research and the Katharine House Hospice.

The arduous route will be a test of strength, endurance and stamina, as each team member will burn more than 5000 calories and cover about 125 miles every day. The team sets off on 2 July from Stafford to travel to the south coast where they will cross to northern France. Then down into Switzerland and over the Alps via the famous Grand St Bernard Pass, arriving at the factory near Milan on 10 July 2011.

The colleagues from Altecnic and Caleffi, including Stafford-based Phil Sherwin (pictured) are raising funds for Katharine House Hospice and Leukaemia & Lymphona Research.

Shine Together, the charity for Frenchay and Southmead hospitals, has also been chosen by event organiser Dave Hart, who came up with the idea for the Gran Charity Giro after suffering an accident which left his back broken in two places. He was treated and made a full recovery at the hospitals, and was inspired to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Phil Sherwin said: 'Every pound raised will go straight to these three charities, which are close to all our hearts and we've been shown a huge amount of support from our colleagues and customers. I'm so proud that Altecnic and Caleffi are supporting the Gran Charity Giro and helping us make this possible.'

Dave Hart added: 'This is an exciting challenge, and one that I didn't think I'd be able to do. I'm so grateful to the medical teams that helped me recover that a thousand miles on a bike really seems like the least I could do! '

For more information on sponsorship visit: www.grancharitygiro.com.