A Stratford man cycled 202km through the night across 23 bridges in a bid to raise money for a youth homelessness charity.

Jack McGurran pedalled for 12 hours on a route that crossed every bridge over the Thames between Dartford and Staines, raising £930 for Centrepoint.

His route took in landmarks such as Tower Bridge, London Bridge and Battersea Bridge,

After cycling through the dark overnight, he said: “It was the longest ride I’ve ever done, but the toughest part of it was when it was pitch black

and I didn’t see a single other person or car for well over an hour.

“In that time the loneliness of being completely on my own kicked in and the reason why I was doing the challenge really resonated.

“I empathise with the young people who very often feel this way, but unlike me they don’t have a warm bed to go back to afterwards.”

This year the charity’s annual Sleep Out challenge was replaced by the virtual fundraiser Stay Up due to the coronavirus pandemic and featured support from actress Lisa Maxwell and a live Instagram performance and Q&A by pop rock band The Vamps.

The event challenged participants to go one night without sleep, as many homeless people will often do, to raise awareness money for vulnerable young people in the UK aged 16 to 25.

Jack, who began his cycle ride at 8pm on Thursday, October 8 and completed it the following morning, praised the work of Centrepoint.

He added he had hoped to challenge himself while raising money for safe accommodation and support for young people.

Centrepoint runs hostels across the UK supporting those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

In the wake of the pandemic, the charity has seen double the number of people calling their helpline who are sleeping rough.

The charity announced that the funds raised by Jack will go directly towards safe accommodation, education and training programmes and physical and mental health support for vulnerable young people.

To sponsor Jack, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/stay-up-thames-cycle