STAFF at a town centre supermarket have been going the extra mile to raise money for charity this weekend.

Dressed in a variety of Christmas themed fancy dress costumes, the team at Tesco Metro in the town centre spent Friday and Saturday cycling the distance between Swindon and Lapland.

On two gym bikes located at the front of the store, they were hoping to raise as much money as possible for Diabetes UK.

Their distance was to be combined with several other stores in the region and together they had to travel more than 2,000 miles.

Dressed as a Christmas tree fairy, manager Chris Wollerton, 44, said as well as collecting money for charity, the challenge was helping to raise the festive spirit.

He said: “All the customers have been very supportive and have been getting into the spirit of things.

“On Friday we even had a couple getting on the bikes for a bit and helping us out.

“All the staff have got behind this as well so there is just a good atmosphere around the place.

“People are getting in the Christmas spirit and being generous so hopefully we can raise a decent amount.”

On the Friday, the team managed to raise more than £160 in the collection buckets which were being passed around.

As well as that, more than £100 was collected to sponsor Chris to wear the fairy costume throughout his time on the bike.

“For some reason everyone was happy to sponsor that one,” he said.

“Most of the staff are having a go and we have put together a rota so everyone is doing 15 minutes on the bike each.

“I did about two hours on the first day, I had to cycle through the pain on Saturday.

“This is the second time we have done the Cycle to Lapland challenge and everyone enjoys it.”

Another member of staff who was getting into the festive spirit was graduate trainee Matt Spence, 23, who was adding to the total mileage dressed as an elf.

He said: “When I was at university I did quite a bit of charity stuff so I am quite happy to get involved in these things.

“It’s great to see everyone getting involved and all the customers have been very supportive of us and put in quite a bit of money.

“On top of that it’s also going to a great cause.”