Four women have raised more than £20,000 as they cycle across Vietnam and Cambodia.

The 50+ Shades of Pink team, from Gravesend, set off on their trek of almost 500 miles from Vietnam to Cambodia last Thursday and do not expect to finish until Friday, December 9.

Christine Tillson, 61, Wendy West, 59, Beverley Whitehead and Carol Jeffery all live in Gravesend and have surpassed their original goal of £12,000 in support of cancer charities.

Carol Jeffery, 56, said: “We were not expecting this many donations but we have had so much support from day one from family and friends.

“It has been amazing and the last few weeks have gone absolutely potty.

“For it to be double what we had originally planned is fantastic. We can never thank people enough.”

The cycle has been two years in the planning and they will be joining more than 80 other women to complete the ladies only ride.

Carol said: “The last six months in particular have gone by so quickly I can’t believe it’s actually here.”

“We were not expecting this many donations but we have had so much support from day one from family and friends" Carol Jeffery

The idea for the charity cycle originated two years ago when Beverly, 56, was told her niece, Lauren Roots, 30, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Carol said: “She pulled through, but all of a sudden it got a lot closer to home.

“Bev suggested we do the bike ride so we said we would do it with her and within two days we had signed up to it.

“Bev was the only one who had a bike at the time, the rest of us had to get one and had a lot of training to prepare for the trip.”

Over the course of the challenge they will ride through rural parts of Vietnam and Cambodia and the money raised will go to three charities, Breast Cancer Care, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action.

Carole said: “All of us know someone who has been through cancer and that’s the reason we chose to support these three cancer charities.”

They will be riding their bikes as part of the Women v Cancer Open Challenges, a series of women-only cycle challenges.

Their fundraising page can be found at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/50plusshadesofpink?utm_id=23