Former England cricketer Alex Tudor – who is now a coach at Kimbolton School – joined ten spinners to cycle nearly 1,200 miles in 10 days for charity.

Alex, who played for England between 1998 and 2002, joined a team of eight police officers from Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire Police, and an officer’s supportive husband, to take part in the challenge.

The group cycled 1,190 miles in aid of Peterborough-based charity Embrace Child Victims of Crime to raise £2,500.

Alex, who also played county cricket for Surrey and Essex, now runs his own coaching company and is a cricket coach at Kimbolton School.

He said: “My wife Mel is a serving police officer and sees first-hand the vital work that Embrace does to support child victims of crime and their families, so I was happy to get involved.

“The team was quality but after a few days my legs felt like stone!

"It was great to be able to make a difference and to know our efforts will enable Embrace to support more children who have suffered trauma because of crime.”

Fellow team member Jenny Bryce, from Bedfordshire Police, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received. It has definitely encouraged us to get on our bikes each day, as it was tough the last couple of days.

“It was our pleasure to have been able to support Embrace as most of us have seen how much they support children affected by trauma.”

Anne Campbell, chief executive of Embrace Child Victims of Crime, said: “Thank you to Rachel Chandler, Mel Tudor, Alex Tudor, Jenny Bryce, Kerry Smith, Verity McCann, Jamie Williams, Suzanne Pickard, Rob McCann and Peter Ward for this fantastic achievement.

“We are so grateful for your support. It has been a tough year for fundraising for charities like ours and we really appreciate every pound we receive to help even more children harmed by crime.”

Embrace Child Victims of Crime is a national charity that provides emotional and practical support to children and young people.

Last year, the charity supported 3,000 children across Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the rest of the UK.

Many of the children the charity supports have been victims of sexual and physical abuse, neglect, domestic abuse or have lost a parent through homicide.

To find out more about Embrace visit: www.embracecvoc.org.uk