A father and son from have completed their own Italian job after cycling from Bordon to Venice in support of needy Farnham families.

Will and George Spencer deserve a lot of praise after getting on their bikes and raising more than £5,000 for food delivery scheme Lunch Bags for Kids, writes Christa Roberts.

For the last three years the Church of St. Thomas-on-the Bourne has provided food for children whose families struggled to feed them during the summer holidays.

A week’s worth of groceries is handed out to 100 vulnerable families every Monday through the holidays at their Brambleton Hall church.

But an essential grant was withdrawn this summer, and meant only three weeks’ worth of food could be provided.

So when George, a chorister at St Thomas, learned of the shortfall, there was only one thing to do: get on his bike.

He and his dad, Will – a diabetic and heart attack survivor – set off in early August with the pair facing storms, mountain passes and broken gears on their journey. Will ran out of puff on the third alpine pass leading to his son George having to flag down a camper van.

The pair also celebrated George’s 17th birthday en-route with his dad already planning the next adventure.

“We might possibly go to Athens,” said Mr Spencer Snr, who also cycled with George to Turin last year in another fundraising bike ride.

“We’re really helping people, which is fantastic,” he said in response to their latest adventure.

Despite this, they raised over £5,000 and the community were abundantly grateful for their hard work, as the money they raised not only funded this summer’s lunch bags, but will enable the programme to operate through the short holidays and over next summer.

Additional reporting by Paul Ferguson.