Three teachers from Wallingford School are training hard for a charity bike ride in Egypt.

They hope to complete 500km along the banks of the River Nile and have pledged to raise 5,850 for Mencap.

Geography teacher Melanie Fenn-Smith, 30, PE teacher Steve Leeds, 42, and Maths teacher Richard Cozier, face a tough winter of fitness training to prepare for the adventure.

Next February, they will join a group of about 100 Mencap riders cycling from Luxor to Aswan and back in a week.

The route will pass many of Egypt's 3000-year-old historical sites, including the Temple of Edfu, the Tomb of Tutankhamun, and the Aswan dam.

Melanie said: "We have some children at Wallingford School with learning difficulties, so we felt it was appropriate to support Mencap." Call 01491 837115 to sponsor them.