A NATIONAL charity has praised two brothers from Rossendale who raised more than £50,000 to help sufferers of cerebral palsy.

The plaudit for Stephen and Trevor Ashworth, bosses of development company The Hurstwood Group, followed their return in the saddle for Scope.

They teamed up with colleague Dominic Fussell to ride in the Manchester to Blackpool cycle race, as part of their efforts this year to raise another £10,000.

And in September, Stephen, 36, and 34-year-old Trevor will travel to Canada to compete in a charity race over the Rockies in America.

Victoria Lister, events fundraiser for Scope, wished the brothers good luck. She said: "Scope applaud the continued efforts of local fundraisers Stephen and Trevor Ashworth in raising so much money for Scope over the years.

"This money will help us in our work to further strive for equality for disabled people in this country."

Stephen said the pair have been fundraising for 10 years and started helping Scope six years ago after reading about it in a newspaper article.

He said: "We chose to raise money for Scope after seeing an article about the charity and the work they do.

"I felt moved by the plight of the young children and the problems they faced and just felt obliged to do something."

The brothers have already raced in Jordan and America to raise money for Scope.

Stephen added: "We are hoping to raise a further £10,000 for Scope this year.

"We have always loved cycling and taking part in these events means we can raise some money at the same time as doing something we enjoy."