TWO brothers who both work for a York bus company are walking tall after raising £5,000 for cancer research.

The duo, who work for bus operator First York, alongside other family members, put their best foot forward at the weekend and raised thousands of pounds to support research into bowel cancer after their sister, Shonagh, was diagnosed with the condition.

Callum Johnstone, 32, a driver teamed up with his cousin, Sean and friend Matthew Duffy to take on the Jurassic Coast 100km Ultra Challenge while brother Ross, commercial manager at First York, was on hand to provide much-needed refreshments at checkpoints on the trek in Dorset.

Callum, who lives in York, and Sean and Matthew have been training for six months to be ready for the challenge, walking routes in North Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales to build their fitness and technique to manage 60 miles on foot over two days.

Shonagh, who lives in London, was there at the end of the race to meet the team.

Callum said: “None of us are runners or endurance athletes but whether we decided to run, walk or crawl we were all determined to get the finish.”

“It was such a thrill to greet them at the end," said Ross, 36.

"We were all hugging and smiling, it was a great achievement and we’re delighted to have raised so much for the charity.”

Shonagh has stage 4 advanced bowel cancer and has been having treatment at The Royal Marsden, a specialist cancer hospital in Kensington and Chelsea in London, where the money is going.

She said: "By raising money for The Royal Marsden we will all be helping to support life-saving research - including funding clinical trials that give patients at the hospital, across the UK and around the world access to the latest breakthrough drugs.

"You are also helping to offer patients world-leading treatment and care - delivering tailored and personalised treatment, which cares for the whole person, not just their illness.

"You're also making it possible to invest in state-of-the-art equipment - from the latest in robotic surgery, to improved cancer imaging to ensure more effective and efficient diagnosis and treatment."

Donations to the fundraising page for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity can be made online here.