Volunteers pedalled on two bikes from midday on Saturday, until midday Sunday to raise funds for Help For Heroes, a charity that helps rehabilitate wounded British soldiers.

Organiser Richard Mead, who lives in Haverhill, and serves with the Royal Corps of Signals, said: “The day could not have been better and the support we got from local people was brilliant.

“People were just so generous and we raised far much more money than expected. So far we’ve counted £2,000 in donations from people passing by and we’ve still got sponsorship money coming in, plus donations on our Just Giving webpage which will push up the grand total even more.”

The event was opened by Haverhill mayor Cllr Les Ager and 300 balloons in the charity’s colours were given away to local children.

More than 40 people took part in shifts throughout the day and Haverhill Leisure Centre held spinning classes alongside the static bikes to help raise more money.

Richard said: “Our cyclists did a fantastic job and yes, there was some saddle burn and aching legs after 24 hours, but everyone is so proud of what we’ve achieved and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the people from Haverhill.”

Mr Mead thanked Halfords, Mansol Preforms, Sperling Retail Solutions, the police, Haverhill Rugby Club, Buildbase and 33 Engineers Regiment at Carver Barracks for their generosity.