With all the recent talk of cyclists crossing the county for the Tour of Britain, one fundraiser has already been there and done that.

Ipswich Star: The Rotary Club of Woodbridge helped raise �650 towards Mandy Hearle's fundraising effort. Picture: CLIFF LONGMANThe Rotary Club of Woodbridge helped raise �650 towards Mandy Hearle's fundraising effort. Picture: CLIFF LONGMAN (Image: Archant)

Mandy Hearle, from Melton, near Woodbridge, has raised thousands for international emergency aid charity Médecins Sans Frontières.

For her latest charity challenge, she planned to ride a ‘pedalmajig’ contraption designed by local schoolchildren, but a regular bike proved more practical for the 250-mile trip.

It was all part of Mandy’s effort to collect old pound coins before they cease to be legal tender on October 15.

The local Rotary Club helped raise £650 by asking people to place a pound on the organisation’s wheel emblem

Another £371 was donated on the last day of operation before the closure of the Deben Pool, where Mandy works.

She managed the ‘Tour de Suffolk’ in 27 hours, carrying the pedalmajig design, with just an hour’s rest “on a bit of lino, under a plastic sack”.