A BAND of intrepid NFU Cymru staff, members and supporters who raised more than £23,000 by completing a gruelling hike and bike challenge have been acknowledged with an award from charity beneficiaries RABI.

Representatives from the union attended RABI’s annual meeting in Oxfordshire earlier this month, where they were presented with the Dennis Brown Shield in recognition of exceptional contribution to the charity in 2018 with the NFU Cymru hike and bike challenge.

The fundraising challenge saw more than 60 participants climbing the peaks of Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen y Fan, with a hardy band of 29 cyclists taking on the additional mission of cycling between each mountain.

That meant scaling more than 7,600 feet of mountain paths and cycling over 130 miles on some of Wales' most scenic roads, racking up a further 9,000 feet of climbing in the bike saddle.

RABI chairman Malcolm Thomas said: “This was an epic and extremely arduous challenge and everyone who took part deserves the highest praise for completing the event, often in atrocious weather conditions.

"Every single penny of the record sum raised will go to support the people we help and on behalf of those people, I would like to record my most sincere thanks to John and his team at NFU Cymru for all their efforts.

"Congratulations on a very well-deserved award.”

NFU Cymru director John Mercer, who came up with the idea for the hike and bike challenge and completed the three walks and two rides, added: “NFU Cymru is honoured to receive this prestigious award from the RABI awards panel.

"It was fantastic to see so many staff, members and industry colleagues joining us for the hike and bike challenge and I would again like to thank all of those who took part on raising a fantastic sum of money that will make a real difference to this important charity.”