THREE Irvine lads who cycled from their Irvine home to Glasgow have raised funds for the NHS – and have pledged to support care homes too.

John Mcwilliam, 27, and pals, Jordan Gray and Shaun McCormack, both 25, pedalled just over 30 miles to raise funds for key workers.

And they now want to support Irvine care homes Fullarton and Greenbank after an online glitch meant all the money went directly to the NHS.

John dressed for the occasion in a hilarious Brazilian lifeguard outfit.

Calling himself ‘Hairy Mary’, John told the Times: “We stay together and have been thinking of ways we can cheer people up.”

“I know Fullarton Care Home as my gran was in there for years. When we found out they were hit with coronavirus, we decided to raise money to help them out.

“We want to make sure the care homes can get face masks and hand sanitiser, and anything else they might need.

“We had already cycled to Lochwinnoch one day, so we thought why not try Glasgow.

“We did a video with the ‘Hairy Mary’ costume and it was viewed 24k times, so I thought I’d wear that. It’s just about staying positive during the lockdown.

“It’s just to give something to the people who are less fortunate who can’t get out to see their friends or family.

John and his pals managed to raise £690 after completing the cycle on Tuesday, April 28 with this money going to the NHS.

But John has pledged to make sure care homes still benefit and will personally buy essential equipment himself to help vulnerable residents, and the staff who look after them.

John thanked everyone who donated and has encouraged them to stay positive.

He added: “People in care homes are the most vulnerable, they don’t get a chance to their families. It’s a shame for them to be stuck there, it’s horrible you just want to do as much as you can.”

“I feel absolutely deflated that all the money can’t go to the care homes, but I have set up an Amazon Wishlist and I am going to be taking money out of my own pocket to supply them with hand sanitiser, face masks, you name it, I’ll make sure they have it.”

The three pals set their final destination as Celtic Park, for Hoops daft John, but they also visited Ibrox for Gers supporting pal Andrew who donated £200 to the fundraiser.

The cycle took four hours, with a their journey taking them up through Dalry, Lochwinnoch, Paisley and then into Glasgow.

And John told how they captured the attention of the public, and even the police.

He said: “It took us four hours to complete. Dalry is always the hardest part, there were a few bad hills that felt like mountains. People were stopping and videoing us as we passed by, cars were tooting their horns. It was brilliant.

“We got stopped by the police in Kilbirnie and we just explained we were cycling from Irvine to Glasgow for charity, they told us to look after ourselves.

“We stuck to all the country roads and cycle paths.”

“We have to thank the guys at RT bikes in Glengarnock who gave us free inner tubes for our bikes in case we had a puncture.

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