When motorcyclist Les Cleeve signed up to take part in a 2,500km charity ride across South Africa, he had no idea who his riding mates would be.

But when Mr Cleeve, a father of four from Titchener Close, Bicester, reached the starting line in Durban, his 105 fellow riders included two very famous faces — Princes William and Harry.

Mr Cleeve, who flew home yesterday after the eight-day ride finished in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, said: "I didn't really have any preconceptions about what they were going to be like and we didn't know formally until a couple of weeks before that they were going.

"Everybody thought nobody would get near them, because of their position, and that they would be surrounded by a veil of security, but they were actually part of the team and fitted in with everybody else."

The 56-year-old described the royal pair as good riders and "perfectly normal guys".

He said: "They did exactly the same stuff as us.

"They helped us build a set of swings for a children's project in the Transkei region out of old telegraph poles and car tyres and they got their hands dirty the same as everyone else.

"The ride was hard work and the princes weren't slouches — they could ride their bikes pretty well."

Mr Cleeve said all the riders agreed before they left for Durban that they would respect the princes' privacy and not take photographs of them unless invited to do so.

Conversations revolved around the ride, the challenging parts of it and the easy parts of it.

Mr Cleeve said: "The other side of it, everybody tried to steer clear of."

The trek was organised by Enduro Africa and the group has so far raised about £400,000 for charities Senebale, of which Prince Harry is the patron; Unicef; and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.

As well as each rider raising at least £5,000, at the end of the trip, the motorcycles — which had been donated by Honda — were sold in aid of the three charities.

Mr Cleeve, who raised £6,000, said there were security arrangements in place but it never obstructed the ride or communication between people in the team.

He said: "Every single person on that ride was very, very aware of who was with us so we were all keeping an eye out for anything that should not be there."

But he said there were no hairy moments.

He added: "In reality, it would be impossible to say that you would be in contact with the two princes again, but after spending 10 days with them, they know everyone in the group."