A RUGBY League fanatic who hitched a ride to every Leigh in England to raise money for his local club has returned from his marathon road trip.

Darren Bates began his sponsored hitch-hike to raise money for Leigh East amateur RL Club -- travelling to all the 17 Leigh's in the space of nine days.

The 32-year-old started his road trip from Knutsford services on the M6 and clocked up an amazing 905 miles during the journey. He raised nearly £1,150 for his beloved club, which will help finance a move to their proposed new home at Marshall Street.

Dareen, originally from Leigh but now living in Daisy Hill, told the Journal about his hitch-hiking adventure: "It was great to see what other Leighs are like. Some of the Leighs were really small, with a couple of houses and a pub, but other Leighs were quite big. When I told people I was from Leigh, a lot of people hadn't heard of Leigh or Rugby League! The trip took longer than I expected. I hurt my knee quite badly so that slowed me down and I was hobbling a bit."

He said the favourite Leigh he visited was Leigh-On-Mendip, in Somerset, because it was out in the wilderness. But he was glad to get back to his favourite Leigh -- his home town.

Leigh East chairman Jim Hoffman said. "It was a novel way of raising money and we're all grateful for his efforts."

R Boardman of Telford Crescent, Leigh and Bolton man S Woolley correctly guessed how many miles Darren trekked and won a £100 prize.