A PARTY of Quakers cycled 360 miles from Swarthmoor to London to highlight their concerns over welfare cuts.

The 13-day bike ride by Friends from Quaker meetings in Cumbria and north Lancashire culminated at the door of 10 Downing Street.

There they delivered a declaration urging the government to stop welfare cuts, which they say is causing "suffering" for many people and creating "an increasingly unequal and unjust society".

Sally Ingham, of Brigflatts Meeting House, near Sedbergh, said the party gathered stories en route of people affected by welfare changes. So far they have collected around 100 on postcards, but their eventual aim is 1000, and they hope to get the postcard stories read out in Parliament by MPs.

As the Friends handed in their declaration at Downing Street, they wore hi-vis jackets carrying the slogan "We Can Afford to Care for All".

Around 12 cyclists covered the whole distance, with 10 or 15 joining in for various stages of the Quaker Ride for Equality and the Common Good.

Among them were Hilary and Don Southall, of Kendal Quaker Meeting. At 84, Don was the oldest rider, and although he had to pull out early due to puncture problems, Hilary joined the ride for three days, from Swarthmoor to Skipton.

She said there was "heartening conversation right the way along" and the riders felt "a widening concern" about the affect of welfare cuts on people, through no fault of their own.

Hilary praised the hospitality provided by Quaker meeting houses along the journey.

Swarthmoor Hall, the starting point of the ride, is known as the cradle of Quakerism. There, in 1652, Judge Thomas Fell and his wife Margaret provided protection and hospitality for early Quakers, notably George Fox, one of the founders of Quakerism.

The riders said they were following in the footsteps of Margaret Fell, who rode to London in spring 1660 with a declaration appealing for Charles II to end the persecution and suffering of Quakers.

In their statement of intent, they said: "For too long the most vulnerable in our society have been invisible and unheard. It is time we listened to their stories. If anyone who has been impacted by welfare changes and wishes to send us their story, email us at quakers4thecommongood”.

Riders who did all or a significant amount of the ride included Sue Tyldesley, of Yealand Meeting; Jean Sadler and Paul Crossley, of Lancaster; and from Brigflatts, Sally Ingham, Tess Satchell and her son Hugo, Cathy and Pierre Betoin and their son Dan, Andy Weller and his son Daniel and daughter Rachel.