A MALVERN man and his colleague travelled 127 miles along Britain’s longest river in a canoe.

Stan Cullen, from Bellars Lane and work colleague Colin Summers, both aged 51, set off on the trip along the river Severn last week, to raise money for Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Their route began at Pool Quay, near Welshpool, Powys, and continued through Shrewsbury, Stourport-on-Severn and Worcester until they reached Gloucester.

They canoed an average of 21 miles each day.

The pair, who work together at MITIE, a strategic outsourcing and asset management company in the West Midlands, have so far raised more than £5,000 for Acorns.

To help make sure every penny raised goes to the charity, they also had their equipment donated, and were given gym membership to ensure they were fighting fit for the challenge.

James Elliott, a fundraiser for Acorns, said: “These guys gave up a great deal of their free time to learn the canoeing skills they needed for this challenge so that they could raise much-needed funds.

“Acorns doesn’t charge families for its service, so the money raised by this event really will make a huge difference.”