VICAR Jimmy Hinton and his wife Sarah are back home after a 505-mile tandem bike ride to help raise £60,000 for a new heated floor at their Victorian church.

The pair, from St Stephen’s Church in West Bowling, got a warm welcome when they returned having made £25,000 from their eight-day trip.

They called in on other churches named after St Stephen on their way - St Stephen’s Church in Westminster, London, was just one of them.

The couple got on their bike, nicknamed Tallulah, and travelled to Shropshire, down through Oxfordshire into London and back to their home church in aid of the church’s Warm the Heart appeal.

They hope their efforts will have put plenty of pedal-power behind the fundraising campaign to raise all the money in just 90 days.

The effort ends on Monday after a host of sponsored events and activities including concerts, comedy and quiz nights and donations from well-wishers.

Energy provider NPower has allocated funding for a biomass boiler and underfloor heating, but the church still needed to raise £60,000 of its own to go towards the major work.

The Rev Hinton’s wife Sarah is manager of The Shine community project, based at the church.

She said: “Our focus is on people, but getting new heating and a new floor is essential for us to work with more people throughout the year.”

Originally the ride was only planned to be a solo ride until the church’s architect offered his tandem and Sarah got to tag along.

To find out how to support the campaign and help it reach its goal, go to warmtheheart.co.uk