A HAMPSHIRE business ditched the office for the great outdoors to raise thousands for our firefighters.

Alliance Consultants, based in Eastleigh, summoned all their pedal-power to cycle 20 miles across the New Forest.

The team of telecoms consultants was spurred into their saddles after hearing about the tragic deaths of Southampton firefighters, Alan Bannon and James Shears, who died while fighting a fire in a Shirley tower block.

They raised £1,500 for the Firefighters’ Benevolent Fund, a sum that was doubled by their bank.