A group of nine young friends completed an ambitious challenge consisting of a non-stop cycle ride from Essex to Sicily where they then climbed Mount Etna. Colchester Kitchens Team Etna set off on Friday 3rd September and completed their adventure on Friday 10th September.

The five cyclists - David Pomphrett, Paul Jannece, Ian Dingle, James Cudmore and Gary Howard - all took turns to cycle up to six hours at a time from Colchester to Harwich, and then through Holland, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland and Italy.

The support crew - Laura Livingston, Emma Cruickshank, Alex Eves and Tiffany Seabrook - followed the cyclists in two vehicles (loaned for the task by two local companies) and recorded all their achievements on video camera.

On reaching the foot of Mount Etna in Sicily, all nine team members then climbed the 11,000 ft volcano, reaching the summit at 3.15pm on Friday. The climb was made all the more dramatic because the peak has experienced a great deal of seismic activity recently (in fact the most recent eruption was just two weeks prior to the climb!)

David Pomphrett, who brought the team together, said that everyone had got something out of the trip. "We all had to work together to make this happen." he said. "Some of us had to cycle for longer than we were expecting, but it was necessary to ensure we kept going. We saw some beautiful sights, especially as we were going through the Alps, and obviously on Mount Etna. But these were also the most challenging times."

"One of our cyclists slipped on the mountain descent and fractured his wrist, but he's on the mend now. Otherwise, we're all in one piece!"

The team have already raised over £2,000 for Autism Anglia in sponsorship, and expect this to rise to well over £5,000. Claire Rodie, the charity's Fundraising Assistant said "Everyone here is really excited about Team Etna's achievements! They have done themselves extremely proud, not just by completing the actual challenge, but by raising all their expenses before hand - it really does take a lot of hard work to prepare for something like this."

"The money raised is hugely valuable to the charity in these tough economic times, so we'd all like to say how grateful we are to the team for helping us to continue our work for people with autism."

The team's major corporate sponsor is the Colchester Kitchen Company, which donated much of the expense money needed by the team, including fuel, equipment and custom t-shirts.

Other donations were given by Essex Leisure, Colne Housing, Chelmsford Safety Supplies and Calor Gas Ltd, and the team came up with a variety of other ways to raise expenses, including holding a quiz night.

The team's efforts mean that all sponsorship money raised from the trip will come directly to the charity - they can be sponsored online at www.bmycharity.com/V2/teametna

Last year David Pomphrett completed a solo cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats in aid of Autism Anglia, raising over £2,000.