College students from Soham, Sutton, Stretham, Cottenham and Willingham raised £1,445 for charity by cycling 4,405 kilometres - the equivalent of Cambridge to Cape Verde - for 24 hours.

Joe Dockerill of Soham, Dom Francis of Little Downham, Tom McCarthy, of Sutton, Harry Wallace of Stretham, Ruben Walton of Willingham and Alex Norman of Cottenham took part in the fundraiser alongside police and staff at Cambridge Regional College.

The marathon took place on static bikes in the sports hall to raise funds for Care of Police Survivors (COPS), which supports the families of police officers killed on duty.

The event involved 10 serving Cambridgeshire Police officers and 17 students and staff from the college.

Nick Dean, chief constable of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, launched the marathon mission on Friday May 17 which ended with cheers and applause the next day.

Tony Ixer, a lecturer for sports and uniformed services, said: "It was a big challenge but one we were all ready for.

"It got tricky in the small hours of the night but we all motivated each other to keep going.

"We raised £1,445 for this very worthy cause through sponsorship from friends and family."

The police officers who joined the college event are in training for the Police Unity Tour in July to raise money for COPS.

The team will set off on July 26 and cycle from headquarters to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire where a memorial service will be held.

Inspector Caroline Scully, who is involved in fundraising, said: "The prospect of being active for 24 hours straight was quite daunting, but we looked out for each other as a team and set goals as went to keep motivated.

"Many of the students are aspiring police officers, so it was nice to be able to do something together. There was a competitive element to the day, too.

To donate to COPS visit www.justgiving.com/Cycle24hrs