KIND-HEARTED staff at Alloa's Asda store have raised thousands of pounds for charity by hopping on an exercise bike throughout January.

Employees set themselves the task of covering the distance from John O'Groats to Land's End and back again – equalling 1,748 miles.

They used an exercise bike stationed at the entrance of the store to achieve the feat.

And by lunchtime on Friday, January 31, they had smashed their goal and covered more than 1,770 miles.

In the process, they collected £2,500 in donations from generous customers.

That money will now be donated to the Cash for Kids charity, which supports disabled and disadvantaged youngsters across the UK.

Shawn Cameron, the shop's ambient section leader, came up with the idea for the fundraiser.

He told the Advertiser: "I just thought we didn't do enough as a store so I thought we could try and do a little bit more for the community.

"I thought we could jump on it earlier in the year.

"I brought the bike from home, and basically whenever we got time – either on a break or after a shift – we'd just jump on.

"There was a good 10 per cent of the population of the store really got involved.

"We've had a good seven or eight of us on it steady."

Laura Polley, the shop's community colleague, added: "Lots of our colleagues have been participating and enjoying the challenge, and it's been really well received by our customers.

"They've enjoyed seeing our progress on the map, and how much money we've raised – we were updating it daily."

And when asked what he thought of the amount of money raised by his fundraiser, Shawn said: "I think it's fantastic – customers have been really generous.

"[I'd like to give them a] huge thank you, because it means loads."