SOUTHAMPTON General Hospital’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) was the finish line for a week-long motorcycle relay which has so far raised £1,500.

The baton was “Hope” PICU’s elephant mascot which was passed between members of the Relay Riders UK during a 3,500-mile trip round the UK.

The round-the-clock ride involved 450 motorcyclists and 96 handovers and was the culmination of six months of planning by organisers Tom Hurford and Debi Lea Fielding.

The ride started in Debi’s home town of Bury in Lancashire before snaking its way round Britain – heading through Manchester, Yorkshire, the north east and into Scotland where it reached its most northerly point at Dundee before heading south, taking in Wales, the Midlands, East Anglia, London the south coast and and the West Country.

Thomas, a betting shop manager from Bournemouth, joined the relay in Bath and stayed with it until the finish where he was joined by Debbi.

The Relay Riders, which has more than 1,000 members, was set up last year for a Round Britain relay in aid of Help for Heroes, which raised £3,000.

The elephant mascot which carried on the ride is being auctioned on line to add to the sum raised, the deadline for bids is 11.59pm on Sunday (July26).

For more details about the club and to donate, visit relayriders125.co.uk.